Okayama Single Malt

Okayama Single Malt

Local spring water and 3 types of barrels including sherry, brandy and the rare mizunara cask are used by this small Japanese distillery. Notes of dry wood and digestive biscuits, give way to a light fresh marzipan on the palate. With hints of cognac on the finish.

This young single malt whisky from Miyashita sake brewery was designed to celebrate 100 years of distilling at its current location at the Miyashita Distillery in Japan. Miyashita was founded in the early 1900s by Motosaburo Miyashita and his brother Kamezo.

This Okayama single malt release was matured in brandy barrels and made using barley from the Okayama region, as well as from Germany.

Although aged for only three years, the nose, palate and finish on this delicate single malt whisky is admirable. With notes of toasted wood, coconut and shochu, it manages to capture a distinctly Japanese flavour and personality.

It is a sibling of the distilery’s Okayama Triple Cask bottling and this pair of core releases represent a future direction for the whisky brand.

Tasting notes

Aroma

On the nose you will discover exotic fruits and the grain notes of the Okayama prefecture, as well as lots of vanilla, dark fruits and oak.

Taste

The palate is rich, considering its young age, with a certain spice and beer note on the brandy-heavy taste.

Finish

The relatively short finish is enjoyable, with layers of coconut, sherry and aged malt coming through from the wood of the brandy barrels.

Single malts from Scotland are generally older than this release, but the Japanese climate, cask type and Miyashita-produced malt have all combined well to create a single malt whisky from Japan that is eminently collectible.