Kaiyo, which translates to Ocean, is a fascinating endeavor in aging. After an initial, land-based stint aging, this whiskey spends three months ocean-aging before being returned to port in Japan and aged further before bottling. Kaiyo is aged in Mizunara Oak, a rare and expensive Japanese variety of very porous oak. Because the trees grow crooked, they need to be around 200 years old before they will make a barrel. Japanese whiskies are almost never bottled at cask strength, cellar away this super tasty and very limited production when available.
