Tokyo Tastings: Ichiro's Malt Ace of Spades and Kawasaki 1981

Another day in Tokyo, another random bar stumbled upon. This time it's Zoetrope, a bar specialising in Japanese whisky and silent films! Another only in Tokyo experience. I was rushing to the airport to catch my flight so quickly scoured the menu and found 2 gems, an Ichiro's Malt Ace of Spades and Ichiro's Malt Kawasaki 1981. There were many other interesting whiskies to try on the menu so definitely will be back!
So this is the famous Ace of Spades worth a ridiculous US$10K according to this article. These Ichiro card series bottlings are getting increasingly rare and collectors are all over them like bees to honey. Think I'm pretty fortunate to have tried it because I probably had the last drop from the bottle.
There were 2 releases for this series and this was the 1st one I believe with an outturn of 122 bottles.
THE REVIEW
Comments: A very classy whisky. A wonderful citrus and earthy nose. The palate is sherried candy and becomes chocolatey with a long lingering spicy finish. Great balance with the oak and sherry! Not sure though if I could ever justify paying the price tag on this whisky right now.
Kawasaki just like Karuizawa is another closed distillery in Japan. The only difference is that Kawasaki is a single grain whisky (90% corn / 10% barley). Let's see what Ichiro-san's magic can do for the whisky.
THE REVIEW
Comments: Wow! Strong vanilla with layers of orange and dark chocolate permeate the tastebuds. Remarkably smooth for the alcohol strength and does not bite at all. Feels like a cross over of some of the great bourbons and rums that I've tried. Solid stuff! (P.S: Realised after that this whisky was a Malt Maniacs 2010 Gold Medal winner).

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