The Whisky Bible has become the go-to resource for whisky lovers to connect with the malts they love. In last years 2020 edition of the Whisky Bible, Meiyo 17 was awarded a 94.5 rating. This year we entered our NAS pure malt, REI, our 23-year-old Makoto 23, and our aged pure malt Meiyo 15.
Makoto 23: Japanese Single Grain of the Year
Makoto 23: 95.5 rating
Meiyo 15: 95 rating
REI: 92 rating
See the full review for Makoto 23 below:
Makoto Single Grain Whisky Aged 23 Years bourbon cask, bott 2019 (95.5) n24 anyone who knows and appreciates a Jaffa Cake will recognise instantly the beautiful marriage between the sweet fruit and the moodier dark cocoa. Of course, here the chocolate represents age. It does so this time with a degree of sprightliness, but also leaves no doubt to the grain’s antiquity, underlined further by the depth of the spice; t24 this style of gentleness is reserved for grain whiskies; this degree of complexity between the dates, pears, ulmo honey and butterscotch is the unique domain of greatly aged whiskies in even older casks; f23.5 the softness of the ulmo honey continues to melt the heart; the spices remind you that this grain has been in the warehouse a good number of warm summers, but not quite warm enough to do any damage; b24 the more I taste of this grain distillery, the greater I am impressed. What a thoroughly charming, beautifully integrated whisky. Not a single false step or off note. Unquestionably one of the friendliest and most genteel whiskies of the year. Ignore this one at your peril…it is an absolute gem. 42%. Bushido Series.
