Kurayoshi 8 Year Old Sherry Cask Malt Whisky

A serious Pure Malt with a Eau de Vie in its soul.

Matsui Shuzo Distillery was founded in 1910 northwest of Kyoto on the facing the Sea of Japan in Tottori Prefecture. Importantly, the distillery is within sight of Mount Daisen — a volcanic peak rising more than a mile above the surrounding fertile plains. This is significant because the spring water used to distill their Sake, Shōchū, and Whisky and bring it to proof has filtered through volcanic stone for eons — resulting in significant purity and a unique, soft mineral composition.

The Matsui Shuzo Distillery keeps a low profile. It’s almost enigmatic with no visitor center or direct sales. But the line Whiskies that comes out of their warehouses are very highly regarded — including ten Malts under the Kurayoshi brand and five grain Whiskies under their Tottori nameplate. All of them very popular with the discriminating dram-lovers across the Land of the Rising Sun.

Kurayoshi 8 Year Old Sherry Cask Pure Malt… just about everything you need to know is in the name, aged a full eight years in new oak, then finished in first-fill ex-Sherry casks. If you are a lover of Sherry-influenced Whisky, you will love this one. But don’t expect it to taste like a Macallan. The Kurayoshi is lighter and more delicate, but with a similar sweetness. And the Kurayoshi is bottled at a perfect 48% ABV, so there is an inner strength to the Spirit as well.

Smartass Corner:
Mount Daisen is regarded by some ancient religious sects in Japan as a holy mountain — including the syncretic Shugendō faith of "the path of training and testing."