Nine Leaves 5 Years 2020 Small Batch PX Cask 70 cl. 59%

Proudly bearing the family crest adorned with nine bamboo leaves, Nine Leaves Distillery was founded in 2013 by Yoshiharu Takeuchi. It is located in Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture, close to an underground spring renowned for the exceptional softness and purity of its water flowing from Mount Ishiyama—a detail often cited as central to the distillery’s identity and house style.

Producer (brief): Nine Leaves was a Japanese micro-distillery celebrated for uncompromising craftsmanship and genuinely small-batch production. Takeuchi-san adopted a philosophy inspired by the whisky world—prioritising precision, clear cask expression and the quality of raw materials (especially water) over volume. The distillery ceased production in 2023, which has only increased interest in the remaining releases.

This small batch is built from the marriage of two 400-litre casks that previously held Pedro Ximénez sherry. Chromatically, it shows a striking weave of deep copper tones with bright orange and yellow highlights. The aromatic and flavour profile is heady and sunlit, yet punctuated by fruity and infusion-like sequences that act as true wells of freshness.

The nose is refined and deep: initially powdery notes of cocoa and freshly grated ginger, joined by apricot and a toasty hint of grilled bread, evoking radiant Andalusian warmth. With aeration, beeswax, oak, and a touch of varnish appear, reminiscent of a cabinetmaker’s workshop. On the palate it is broad yet incisive: juicy orange, peach and nectarine, alongside expressive dried-fruit notes of fig and date. Then come noble spices—cardamom, saffron and ginger—woven delicately with Bourbon vanilla and a soft, creamy coconut milk nuance.

The finish is plush and elegant, blending heady notes (cane flower), honeyed tones (lavender), herbaceous suggestions (Havana/tobacco), gourmand elements (gingerbread), and bright fruit (kumquat). It gradually turns fresher through infusions of verbena and chamomile, before a fine layer of intertwined liquorice and vanilla adds extra smoothness to the mature, radiant after-aroma.