We are big Kaiyo fans. Malt whisky drinkers of all stripes are probably familiar with the brand at this point, as it remains one of the fairly available and reliable sources of Japanese whisky in recent years. As well aged stocks from more well known labels become harder and harder to rely upon, Kaiyo has been consistently impressive with not just their regular lineup, but special releases of various cask finishes and different styles.
Part of Kaiyo's success and consistent quality is the base distillate itself, which actually comes from Nikka. Nikka distills the whisky and then "teaspoons" it, meaning they add a miniscule amount of non-Nikka distillate to it, preventing it from being called Single Malt or bearing their name, though the quality remains unaffected. Kaiyo then matures this in Japanese Mizunara oak, a notoriously expensive and difficult to work with wood that is responsible for many of Nikka and Suntory's most lauded special releases throughout the years. After an initial period of aging, the barrels take a several months long journey at sea on cargo ships, where the constant jostling and influence of maritime air further adds levels of complexity to the whisky before it returns to Japan for final maturation. Generally it is then blended to achieve a desired profile, but recently they have begun setting aside some of the more characterful barrels to be sold as single cask selections.
We were lucky enough to choose a barrel in the inaugural launch of this new private barrel program last year, and we are thrilled to be able to do so again this year. Like last year's, the barrel we selected was aged entirely in Mizunara oak, first for three years in Japan, then for a few months at sea, then an additional six years back in Japan for a total of over nine years. It is bottled at a near cask strength of 56% abv, without chill-filtration.
On the nose, there is a waft of lovely lemon-poppyseed cake, a green herbal quality, honey, orange blossom, and even a hint of cinnamon bun. The palate is big and mouthfilling at 56% abv, with a creamy texture that sticks to the tongue. Spice hits you first, with that mizunara incense signature taking the spotlight, but that quickly washes away to flavors of fresh pear, English tea biscuits, cinnamon, vanilla, and a bit of drying oak. The finish lingers on fresh baked scones, bright citrus oils, especially lemon, and red apple skins. It drinks fairly easily at full strength, but if you prefer your whiskies with a touch of water, this takes it well, bringing out even more of the gentle pear like quality along with citrus and chamomile tea.
