Nikka Session Blended Malt Whisky
Nikka Session Blended Malt Whisky is the first brand new Nikka in six years! This drop beings a world blend of malts from the Miyagiko, Yoichi, and Ben Nevis distilleries. Nikka Whisky purchased the Ben Nevis Distillery in 1989 and have been using components in many Nikkas Whiskies since. This release from Nikka has aromas of pineapples, apples, blackcurrant, pears and leafy mint. Across the palate the fruit has dried up, leading us instead to peppercorn and a healthy serving of woody malt, of course. The malt wave continues to the finish with heaps of dark chocolate malt bitterness. Slightly peaty at the end.
Kamonishiki Daiginjo Sake
The Niigata sake brewery, Kamonishiki Brewery specialising in small productions with beautiful handcrafted packaging. Established in 1893 in Kamo City, the brewery has been the locals favourite best-kept secret. Significant effort has been made to produce the highest quality sake possible, and though they may be small with limited output and production, they take great pride in their work.
Komasa Kagoshima (Strawberry) Japanese Gin
Komasa Gin is the craft gin label proudly presented by Komasa Jyozo, a shochu distillery in Kagoshima, Japan with over 130 years of distilling history. Gin and shochu both share the fact that they are distilled spirits. Drawing on decades of distilling expertise and know-how accumulated through making shochu, the distillery unveiled a new line of gins in 2018. Komasa Jyozo uses their rice shochu as the base for Komasa Gin, to which they add juniper berries and as few other ingredients as possible in order to let the main botanicals shine on their own. Komasa Jyozo’s goal is to utilize and express the natural fragrances and flavours of their quality ingredients to the fullest. With Komasa Gin, they hope they have hit upon a revolutionary style of gin that is eminently easy to drink and perfect for everyone. The sweet and refreshing aroma of strawberries with a deep and lingering finish of herbs. These seemingly contradictory personalities coexist without canceling each other out, and each sip will make you want to keep tasting this unique marriage. With the juiciness of strawberries shining through the intricately overlapping flavours, this is a gin that evokes the rich climate of tropical Kagoshima.
Okinawa Japanese Gin
Made by the Masahiro distillery, which has been making Awamori for over a century, the Masahiro Okinawa Japanese Gin is the very first to come out of the island. Perfectly capturing the tropical climate of the Southern Japanese island, the botanical list features a variety of local ingredients. Shequasar, guava leaves, and Balinese long pepper. The recipe also includes goya, the anti-aging, cucumber-shaped bitter melon from Okinawa, and a type of hibiscus called roselle.
White Oak Tokinoka Blended Japanese Whisky
White Oak Tokinoka Blended Japanese Whisky is produced in Hyōgo. In 1919, this distillery was the first to obtain a license for making whisky in Japan. Four years before the famous Yamazaki! The Tokinoka Blended Japanese Whisky is an expression of Japanese skills and expression of taste. It is a blend of 75% single malt and 25% grain. The nose has fruit aromas. The palate is soft to start, adding some strength with a little spice. Well balances. It finishes long of cream, malted barley, oak, and vanilla.
The Kurayoshi Pure Malt Sherry Japanese Whisky
The Kurayoshi Pure Malt Whisky Sherry Cask is a boutique Japanese whisky produced by the Matsui distillery..This is a 100% malted barley whisky, sourced from distilleries around Scotland, before making their way to Japan, where it is blended with Japanese Whisky, aged and cut to proof with the legendary volcanic stone filtered waters of Tottori Prefecture. This means that the profile is brighter that you would expect in this age-range. This brings out more herbal and citrus notes while maintaining a nice complexity. The real surprise is how well it pairs with food. Think of it like a “white Wine of Whisky” and enjoy.
Kyoya Shuzo Premium Yuzu Gin
Stepping outside of the realm they are renowned for, high quality authentic Japanese shochu, Kyoya Shuzo has successfully made their mark in the world of gin. Using their own Kameshizuku sweet potato shochu as a base, this premium yuzu gin is flavoured with yuzu and hyuganatsu, sansho pepper,citrus fruits and juniper berries.
Mars Iwai Tradition Blended Whisky
Mars Iwai Tradition Blended Whisky is a Japanese blend of 25% corn whisky and 75% malt whisky. Mars Iwai Tradition was aged in a combination of bourbon, sherry and American white oak casks which gives it a distinctively rich and full bodied finish. Rich gold in colour, Mars Iwai has a complex fragrance of sweet honey and malt. Notes of burnt sugar cane, sweet peat, orange marmalade, cedar and cigar can be enjoyed. In the Miyata village on Kuyshu Island is the Shinshu distillery (aka "Mars"), founded in 1985 by Hombo Shuzo. Shinshu’s whisky is distilled only during the island's harsh winters. In operation from 1985-1992 and then 2011 to present, this is actually Shuzo's third domestic distillery. The previous have been the Yamanashi Distillery (1960-1969) and the Mars Kagoshima Distillery (1978-1984).
Ki No Bi Kyoto Dry Gin
Ki No Bi Kyoto Dry Gin is a uniquely Japanese expression of the classic English spirit. Master Distiller Alex Davies of the Kyoto Distillery uses a spirit base distilled from rice and adds botanicals like yellow yuzu, hinoki (cypress) wood chips, bamboo, gyokuro tea, and green sanshō (Japanese peppercorn) berries that are designated into: base, citrus, tea, herbal, spice, and floral. Each botanical category is steeped into the rice spirit, which is then individually distilled before blending together. It is brought to proof using water from Fushimi, known for its purity. Ki No Bi translates to "the beauty of the seasons"
Ichiro's Malt & Grain World Blended Whisky
Ichiro Akuto's most voluminous and accessible Whisky is, as it says on the label, a blend of Malt and Grain Whiskies. While the exact source of the material is not published, it's known it's a blend of Japanese distilled material vatted with Whiskies sourced from around the world. In addition to whisky from his own stocks--including, potentially, Hanyu and Karuizawa, as well as his own Chichibu--the blend contains spirits from Canada, the United States, Ireland and Scotland. The imported Whiskeys are 3-5-years-old, aged in their country of origin before being carefully blended with local Japanese material and matured a further 1-3 years at Chichibu. The Whisky is vatted in 2 x 5,000-litre wooden barrels built by French cooper Taransaud. Non-chill filtered, non-coloured, Chichibu Ichiro's Malt & Grain World Blended Whisky is a pure example of Akuto's whisky making expertise.