Taste Testing Asia's First Ever Amburana Cask Finished Whisky: Craftbros Galaxy Express 999 Emeraldas Blended World Malt Whisky
If Asia has Mizunara, then America surely has Amburana. Whilst Amburana, the South American hardwood, has been incredibly popular with its use in finishing Bourbons, it's almost entirely unheard of in Asia - till now.
As it turns out South Korea's incredibly innovative Craftbros Brewery & Distillery, which has solidified its cult following with hoppy IPA's and has in recent years begun establishing its whisky distillery and whilst now fast approaching its landmark 3 year anniversary, has already put out a range of impressive whiskies, distilled IPA's and even aged Soju blends, is yet proven itself a pioneer with exotic cask finishings! As part of its World Malt selections, its second set of Galaxy Express 999 bottlings, which follow some of the cult Japanese manga's characters, features the use of Amburana casks and Mizunara casks - both the first official instance of its use in South Korea as far as we're aware of, with the former (the Amburana) certainly the first ever in Asia as a whole!
Amburana tree.
So what is Amburana? Amburana is a hardwood (of the Fabaceae family) - so not actually an oak (of the Quercus family), although it is occasionally nicknamed Brazilian oak - that is native to the South American tropical forests of Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina, and has long been used to age the local Cachaça cane spirit. The Amburana tree is fairly long and slender, yet given its tight grain structure (so not porous at all) can be used to produce barrel staves once the tree reaches 15 years of age, where it's then air dried and seasoned before being coopered into barrels for use. It's best known for producing incredibly intense and flavourful warm, confectionary tones of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, with undertones of vanilla cream, which together lends a cinnamon rolls pastry quality, that is the result of the wood's high concentration of coumarin - the same compound that's found in tonka beans and fresh hay. It's worth pointing out that this hardwood has in fact softer tannins than typical oak, and requires just about 2 months for a whisky finish, although it is typically used for 1-2 years when it comes to Cachaça. That all said, it wasn't until sometime in the late 2010's that Amburana began to really take off, first with craft beer brewers who were aging their brews in the South American hardwood (brewers called it pastry stout without the pastry!), before later getting picked up by Bourbon brands and makers, getting itself all the way to Ireland's Teeling Whiskey which used the wood as part of its Wonders of Wood series. Yet, for some reason, Amburana never quite made its way to Asia, and thus has little awareness in this part of the world.
Founder Kang Ki-Moon (Left) and Distiller and Blender Eddie (Jooho) Kim (Right).
And so when Craftbros announced its new whisky that was aged in Amburana, we couldn't help but find ourselves deeply impressed and delighted, and at the same time given Craftbros' impeccable track record in producing very innovative and also very tasty whiskies and more, the news was perhaps in hindsight not all that surprising. After all, Eddie Kim who serves as the Master Distiller for Craftbros has long been a craft beer brewer as well, which all the more makes it obvious that he'd be familiar with the wonders of Amburana wood! As an interesting statement, he's chosen to release a set of two whiskies that are both aged separately in their own highly prized woods, one in Amburana and the other in Mizunara, making the set something of a best of both worlds, tying the most exciting wood in both hemispheres of the world together! PS. The first set of this series also featured yet another incredibly fascinating wood - the local Korean Sawtooth Oak!
Galaxy Express 999's Emeraldas.
Now getting to this release at hand, as mentioned, it comes as part of Craftbros's collaboration with Japan's famous Toei Animation - the anime studio behind the likes of Dragon Ball, Digimon, Slam Dunk, One Piece and of course Galaxy Express 999 - with each expression featuring a character from the 1981 Leiji Matsumoto cult classic TV series. As a matter of a quick recap, the manga follows an unlikely hero, Tetsuro Hoshino, who lives in an intergalactic universe that is in the midst of reckoning with the advancement of human mechanisation, which whilst allowing humans to live forever, also comes with serious moral and ethical dilemmas. Hoshino thus journeys through the universe seeking to undergo mechanisation only to gain a more nuanced understanding of human concepts of life, love and more, which makes him deeply consider what it means to be human. In the first set of releases from this series from Craftbros, we saw the featuring of the anime's central figures of Tetsuro Hoshino, Maetel and the train conductor, whilst in the second set, it is the characters of Emeraldas and Captain Harlock who are showcased - the two sharing many arcs together as intergalactic antihero pirates charged with their own sense of virtue and justice, with Emeraldas on a journey in search of her own meaning, whilst at the same time fighting against the lures of mechanisation, much of which intertwines with her own relationship with her family (Maetel being her twin sister, with both choosing very different life paths given their differing personalities).
And so for the Craftbros Galaxy Express 999 Emeraldas that we have today, this is an unpeated World Malt whisky blend that's been aged in Amburana casks, and bottled at 49% ABV, non-coloured and non-chill-filtered, with the whisky blended, finished and bottled by Craftbros in South Korea. As Craftbros states, "Craftbros’ World Malt Whisky is the result of patient maturation in oak casks - a process of steadfastly resisting external pressures to cultivate a unique, distinctive flavor profile. Each glass embodies the burning determination of Emeraldas, who, with her red cape fluttering, gazed out at the cosmos, transcending the destiny she shared with her sister. You will soon be able to experience Craftbros’ interpretation of Emeraldas’s spirit."
Let's get to it!
PS. Cheers to you Eddie for constantly pushing the boundaries of whiskymaking, with your boldness and daring! Thank you for your generosity and openness!
Whisky Review: Craftbros (Whiskybros) Galaxy Express 999 Emeraldas Amburana Cask Finish Blended World Malt Whisky 크래프트브로스 은하철도999 에메랄다스 암부라나 캐스크로
Tasting Notes
Colour: Gold
Aroma: Incredibly luscious and rich, with honeycombs, caramel and milk chocolate, backed by vanilla cream and tinged with more tangy tones of burnt orange peels and maple syrup, with also more in the way of brown sugar. It’s then topped with an earthy dustiness of mocha powder. It’s lush and decadent, yet at the same time really lifted and lofty, almost crystalline and waxy. With time, more in the way of cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, baking spices, mocha powder, with wafts of eucalyptus and gingerbread and candied ginger. This continues to let up to reveal exotic woody and spiced perfumes of sandalwood, musty and musky lacquered wood cupboards, cardamom and chai tea latte, almost a touch milky, and at the same time still mixed in with all that maple syrup, along with now brighter flecks of banana smoothies and dried apricots.
Taste: Medium-bodied, crystalline and candied, with confectionary tones of maltose candy, acacia honey, vanilla cream, milk chocolates, topped with cinnamon, mocha and baking spices, along with wafts of eucalyptus for a slightly herbal touch. It’s bright and candied, yet at the same time warm with those comforting spices, between which are citrusy fruits of orange peels, dried apricots and mangoes and also some pineapple candies. That cinnamon led baking spice, herbal eucalyptus and citruses seamlessly integrate into the finish. Despite the really big and evocative cinnamon note, it never comes off sharp or prickly!
Finish: The cinnamons over creme brûlée and honey drizzled milk chocolates over vanilla cream stream through the finish, carrying with it those citrusy and herbal tones. Seamless candied and creamy finish, clean and then with a deep bow of spiced and comforting warmth.
My Thoughts
Wow! Totally spectacular! You could nose this for ages as it continues to evolve! It's incredibly exotic and spiced, intertwining tones of baking spices, milk chocolates, warm milk, citruses and stone fruits, with a herbal touch. The Amburana is showcased so expressively here, whilst also not burying the underlying whisky itself, the power of which tells me that it must be not easy working with Amburana which can easily take over the reins - a great display of finesse in the finishing done here!
At the same time, even with the warm, comforting, confectionary tones, it's got so much verve and boldness, really evocative and well developed, with layers upon layers, stacked with richness and perfectly integrated with all its depths! It opens immediately powerful and aromatic, yet without prickliness or sharpness, which then slowly unveils itself so be sure to give it some time and just enjoy that seamless progression as it opens up. This continues on to the body, yet somehow so invigorating and exciting, at once rich and lush but also lifted, again never coming across too punchy or angular. It takes you on a ride then into the really comforting finish that ends on a clean note and yet takes a deep bow of spices and warmth.
This is without a doubt one of the most exciting whiskies we've come across this year!
Kanpai!
@111hotpot
