Distilled at Eigashima distillery 14/12/2011; Bottled June 2019. Finished in Japanese Mizunara wood, non chill filtered and natural coloured. Bottle outrun – 352 bottles.
Channelling the spirit of the Samurai, while paying tribute to the origins of Japanese whisky in the Scottish whisky industry.
This whisky has spent time maturing in a cask freshly emptied of Scotch whisky from the closed Port Ellen distillery, before being finished in a cask of Japanese Mizunara oak.
Dekanta – Japanese fine and rare whisky retailer.
This whisky was tasted as part of the Dekanta whisky tweet tasting with Steve/@TheWhiskyWire on the 30th of June 2021.
Appearance
A lovely mid gold in colour, the swirl line beads up and drops syrupy thick legs.
Nose
Straight off there’s juicy cocktail cherry syrup from the jar, some type of wood i’m not familiar with, thinking about it it has to be the Mizunara oak. The nose is a forest walk initially for me, plenty of vegetation and leaf litter. There’s a lovely light perfume note, with wood polish, might need a drop of water. Petrichor and minerality are the main notes to bring the nose to a close.
I can taste this on my palate from nosing it. There is a faint mustard note and water biscuits.
I’m getting some cooked meats, which can be smoke/peat to me, it’s quite light for me. #DekantaWhisky
— Dram it Mick! (@StillSurreal) June 30, 2021
Palate
Super syrupy mouthfeel, and it’s a lot more fruity at first on the palate. Apricot jam, marmalade, blood oranges and chocolate Orange, there’s a faint juniper kind of note too, I’ve not tried anything from a mizunara cask tbh, so again i wonder if this is cask influence.
With more time there are hazelnuts, chocolate dipped strawberries, cask char, star anise, black and red liquorice, ginger, cardamom and cumin.
Finish
Long in length, warming with spices and fruity sweetness. It’s all married very nicely, nothing is out of place, it is very nice indeed. The mouth is left feeling warm with ginger, blood oranges, cinnamon, honey, red berries, and coffee beans, and it really does linger.
My thoughts
The way this whisky has been crafted is wonderful, the provenance with “Port Ellen” as a closed distillery is very interesting, especially for whisky geeks, and the cask “coming home” after such a journey just closes the cycle perfectly.
Cask influence with it’s previous contents have come together to create a whisky of gorgeous complexity. Again the development is very impressive, and wonderful to be a part of and witness first hand. I have to say that it is an impressive whisky, and at 60% ABV a drop of water can be added and the enjoyment continues on.
Would i buy a bottle?
This is a premium whisky, and it comes with a premium price, which sadly is more than my whisky budget can stretch to. If i did have the funds though i would buy a bottle, it is another whisky i’d like to get to know better and understand more, and to be honest how many times have you seen a 60% ABV Japanese whisky?
Thanks to – @dekantawhisky, @WhiskyWings and @TheWhiskyWire for allowing me to be part of the tasting, and for the use of his Dekanta whisky image.
Follow @dekantawhisky Follow @WhiskyWings Follow @TheWhiskyWire Follow @thewhiskychapsAnd now for something completely different
It seems many whisky folk also love music, @newdramdrinker and myself have hosted metal/rock music evenings. I thought i would start embedding the odd track that i have been listening to during a whisky tasting or writing my whisky reviews. Well here iv’e added a Progressive Metal track that has plenty of that “big open sound”, give it a listen, and i hope you enjoy it 🤘
