World Whisky Review #2: Suntory Toki

Distillery: Blend of Yamazaki, Hakushu, and Chita

Bottler: Suntory

Region: Japan

ABV: 43%

Age: NAS

Price: $32

Color: 0.6 Old Gold

Nose: Fuji apples, white wine/grapes, and some flowers.

Palate: Main note in here is fresh fuji apples. Along with that, there is a slight hint of vanilla, some cream, and an oaky dryness that reminds me a lot of chardonnay. There’s a slight bitterness in here as well, like what you get from a floral tea.

Finish: The finish is short-to-medium. Dry, again like chardonnay or a dry sake. It does have a very clean/refreshing finish to it without any lingering aftertastes.

Conclusion: I’ve thought about picking this up on multiple occasions. I needed a whisky to last me a trip and I figured at this price point, it’s not a huge gamble. For a blend, it’s pretty good. Not super straight forward and has some layers of flavor. The dryness of it is a bit strange and I cannot help but walk away thinking I drank some high proof chardonnay instead of a whisky. It’s not as good as any of the Nikka offerings I’ve had (Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt, Nikka Coffey Grain Whisky, Nikka Coffey Malt Whisky) but I liked this one better than the only other Suntory offering I’ve tried (Suntory Hibiki Harmony). I saw some comparisons to the Great King Street line by Compass Box. This one drinks similarly to the Artist’s Blend from that line with some slightly bolder flavors. Overall, not a bad intro to Japanese whisky and one that’s fairly decent for the price.

Final Score: 72

World whisky review #2, Japanese whisky review #1, Whisky Network Review #23

Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection.
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.