Kaiyo Mizunara Aged Cask Strength Japanese Malt Whisky

A more exuberant and amped-up cousin of a very graceful Japanese Whisky.

The Land of the Rising Sun discovered Whisky late in the 19th Century and they follow the tradition of Scottish distilling with their own nuances. But while Scotch is a wild battle of flavors, Japanese Whisky is a crystalline Spirit that doesn’t mess around. Especially when it's is matured in Mizunara oak barrels. Mizunara oak is to Whiskies what oud is to perfumes: exclusive, expensive and marvelous, passing along exotic flavors of incense and sandalwood to the Spirit.

Japanese Whisky is very popular right now and thus limited. That leads to "malternatives," where producers import and dilute Scotch Whisky and age it in Japanese wood. But Kaiyo Mizunara Whisky is as Japanese as Godzilla on a TV game show where the furniture is made of chocolate. Okay, that's a tiny lie, to be frank. This Whisky doesn't spend its entire maturing period in Japan. The Kaiyo casks are whisked on a boat and left to age somewhere on the ocean (Kaiyo means ocean!). The reason is that the intensity of the Mizunara oak influence on the flavor wains a bit after a while, so the Spirit needs a maritime boost. Which is admittedly... Badass.

Now this Funanori (Japanese for sailor with some fun in it) is a stronger and more intense version of the regular Kaiyo Mizunara Oak Japanese Whisky. In essence, the producers amped up all the good things of the original: notes of orange peel and oak spices greet you with riotous bravado, the sandalwood and vanilla stoutly indulge your palate, while the finish is riveted and oaky. Fans of fearless Whiskies will love this dramatic and fierce Spirit that takes the equilibrium of the standard edition and brings it to the next level.