Hakushu 18 Year Old Single Malt Japanese Whisky

For many years, Hakushu 18 Year was my golden goose of Japanese whisky. Believe it or not, back when I started in this industry over 20 years ago, the Yamazaki 12 year was the least expensive 12-year-old single malt in my store. I think we charged $37 and Glenlivet 12 Year was $40. When I wanted to treat myself the 18 year was only $100! When the Hak 18 Year launched in 2006, it was literally all I wanted, and it was damn hard to find. Difficult to sell yourself the one bottle allocated to your store, so I eventually paid retail elsewhere and coveted that bottle like it was my baby. Then, it became impossible to find and extremely expensive, yet my desire to have it in my possession diminished very little. Now, tasting the modern version, I actually think it's improved amazingly over the years; my desire to own the Hak 18 Year never really connected with my perception of its quality. Let's have a little bit together! The color is a beautiful, burnished color (1.1) Huh, this is much darker than I remember the old version being. HOLY MOLY, the nose is absolutely stunning, full of beautiful, tropical fruit, wild honey, antique wood, and the finest black teas. The smoke is so well-integrated and rich you'd be hard pressed to call it out as a peated malt on the nose. The ultra supple entry builds with deep, roasted fruit, deep vanilla, rancio, and baking spice that build toward a round, complete, and savory finish. Again, we're not at all in the overt peat world, and the depth and age feel well beyond 18 years. For all that is said about Suntory's consistency, this is wildly inconsistent with what I remember in that it's much, much better! A poor, little 92 point score from 13 years ago does not do the modern Hakushu 18 year any justice. It's very clear that they're putting beautiful old malt in this from a variety of extremely high- quality barrels. A beautiful whisky that should be considered for anyone looking for a luxurious experience.