Review – Ohishi Whisky, (No Age Statement), 42.9%

I’ve never been hunting before. And anyone even remotely acquainted with me will know I’m a “go big or go home” kind of guy. Being such a human being, I thought if I’m really going to do this, I’m going to venture off-world to bag something worth my while.

Let the images here tell the story of both my adventures and my successes.

For the record, it was not a close encounter by any means. I bagged this cranky crawly from about two-hundred yards. He was agile and fast, but not agile and fast enough. And now he makes a great adornment to my southern-most bar room wall.

I should probably mention that my pilot and guide, Reggie, came home with something stuck to his face. It latched onto him while he wandered off to… well… you know. Eventually the frisky little bugger fell off and died. We just threw the carcass away. Reggie appears to be okay, although he complained of stomach cramps on the ride home. I think it was just the celebratory dram we shared after the hunt, which for the record, was the Ohishi Japanese Whisky.

An over-priced concoction of malted and unmalted rice, the Ohishi’s nose is easily alcoholic—sharp and medicinal. Although, the deeper the inhalation, the sweeter it gets. But by deeper I mean literally taking it into one’s lungs like a long cigarette draw. I doubt too many folks will do that with their whisky. Well, on the other hand, maybe they will. I mean, I just did. But I’m weird that way.

Anyway, the palate is sugary at first, but then it falls into a warm sour. I suppose one way to describe it would be to say it’s a little like a sweet mustard with an emphasis on the sweet. Someone put some brown sugar into the mix.

The first time around, the finish is light. A second go-round and the finish has more time to coat the tongue, eventually communicating a warmed jelly—perhaps plums.

Normally I’m a fan of Japanese whiskies. This one, not so much. I would’ve brought along a nice Glenmorangie or a decent Ardbeg, but we couldn’t get anything through the Space Force checkpoints. With that, we had to choose from the available selection in the duty free shop on LV-426. The Ohishi was there in abundance. I’m guessing I know why they may be shipping it off world. There doesn’t seem to be much of a market for it among the earthlings.