Kujira Ryukyu 8 Year Old Whisky
  • Category Japanese Whisky
  • Country Japan
  • Distillery Shinzato Shuzo
  • Age 8 Year Old
  • Style Single Grain Japanese Whisky
  • Maturation ex-Bourbon casks & ex-Sherry casks
  • Alcohol 40%*
*please note that the ABV of this bottle may vary California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 WARNING.
  • cherry
  • caramel
  • raisin
  • cranberry
  • anise
  • oak
  • vanilla
  • plums
  • spicy

KUJIRA

Kujira Ryukyu 8 Year Old Whisky (0.7l, 40%*) *please note that the ABV of this bottle may vary

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Character Goatson
A lovely, eight year-old Rice Whisky aged in Bourbon and Sherry casks.

The Kumesen Distillery — Kumesen Syuzo — was founded in Okinawa, Japan, in 1952. Their first product was Awamori — a beverage distilled from special Indica rice and served at 30-40% ABV. Then in 1989 they began to age their Awamori in oak casks, creating a rice-based Whiskey. The products are exceptionally popular in the Japanese islands and the rich flavor of their products are building a global fan base.

Kujira Ryukyu 8 Year Old Whisky is a single grain Rice Whisky. Do NOT make the mistake of thinking that this is a Rice Wine or a Sake. This is a real Whiskey with rice as the core fermented grain. It’s made from polished Indica rice and aged for eight years in a combination of ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry casks and bottled at 40% ABV. The result is an exceptional Spirit with the smoothness of a wheated dram and all of the spice coming from the wood.

Smartass Corner: 
Awamori — the base Spirit — gets its name from the fermentation process. The word translates loosely as "rising swelling bubbles" and the fermentation is started with black koji from Okinawa.
  • Category Japanese Whisky
  • Country Japan
  • Distillery Shinzato Shuzo
  • Age 8 Year Old
  • Style Single Grain Japanese Whisky
  • Maturation ex-Bourbon casks & ex-Sherry casks
  • Alcohol 40%*
*please note that the ABV of this bottle may vary California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 WARNING.
Appearance / Color
Medium Amber

Nose / Aroma / Smell
The aroma is balanced with an oak foundation under vanilla and stewed plums.

Flavor / Taste / Palate
The palate leads with dried raisins, cherries, and cranberries and blooms with notes of caramel and a light oak spice.

Finish
The finish is medium length and smooth with an interesting anise element at the end.
Flavor Spiral TM
About the Flavor Spiral
What does Kujira Ryukyu 8 Year Old Whisky taste like?

The Flavor Spiral™ shows the most common flavors that you'll taste in Kujira Ryukyu 8 Year Old Whisky and gives you a chance to have a taste of it before actually tasting it.

We invented Flavor Spiral™ here at Flaviar to get all your senses involved in tasting drinks and, frankly, because we think that classic tasting notes are boring.

Back to flavor spiral
  • cherry
  • caramel
  • raisin
  • cranberry
  • anise
  • oak
  • vanilla
  • plums
  • spicy
Dog Dogson's Smartass corner
Character Dogson
It's not uncommon for Japanese Whisky to be aged in mizunara (Japanese oak) casks. Suntory conducted a research on how mizunara oak influences Whisky flavor and found out it adds coconut notes to it.
The two biggest Whisky producers in Japan and major rivals are Nikka and Suntory.
Japanese Whisky is connected both to Scotch and Bourbon. It’s a Scotch-style Spirit that’s matured in climates similar to Kentucky’s.
The Highball brought Japanese Whisky back to life. Aside from some attention from overseas, Japanese Whisky consumption domestically was very low during the better part of the early 2000s. It wasn’t until 2008, when Suntory launched the Highball campaign featuring their Kakubin Whisky that things kicked off.
In recent years, Japanese Whiskies have won several top prizes at the World Whisky Awards and have consistently scored higher than Scotch Whiskies in blind tastings. Talk about a student surpassing the master!
Japanese Single Malts, like Scotch, are double-distilled in pot stills. Grain Whiskies, on the other hand, are distilled in column stills.
Similar drinks
Dog Dogson's Smartass corner
Character Dogson
It's not uncommon for Japanese Whisky to be aged in mizunara (Japanese oak) casks. Suntory conducted a research on how mizunara oak influences Whisky flavor and found out it adds coconut notes to it.
The two biggest Whisky producers in Japan and major rivals are Nikka and Suntory.
Japanese Whisky is connected both to Scotch and Bourbon. It’s a Scotch-style Spirit that’s matured in climates similar to Kentucky’s.
The Highball brought Japanese Whisky back to life. Aside from some attention from overseas, Japanese Whisky consumption domestically was very low during the better part of the early 2000s. It wasn’t until 2008, when Suntory launched the Highball campaign featuring their Kakubin Whisky that things kicked off.
In recent years, Japanese Whiskies have won several top prizes at the World Whisky Awards and have consistently scored higher than Scotch Whiskies in blind tastings. Talk about a student surpassing the master!
Japanese Single Malts, like Scotch, are double-distilled in pot stills. Grain Whiskies, on the other hand, are distilled in column stills.
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