97 points – Extraordinary / Ultimate Recommendation + Chairman’s Trophy
– Ultimate Spirits Challenge 2020
The Matsui Mizunara Cask is a single malt whisky, aged in one of the whiskey world’s most interesting types of cask: the rare (and due to its porosity rather difficult) Japanese oak, quercus mongolica. It is distilled in Tottori prefecture, and watered down to 48% with the local good spring water. This bottling won a double gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2019, and in the 2020 edition of Jim Murray’s “Whiskey Bible” it was named Japanese Single Malt of the Year. that’s the way to do it!
Colour: Light golden.
Scent: Charming scent with many fresh and floral elements: elderflower, cherry, coconut and cloves.
Tasting notes: In the mouth, the whiskey feels light and elegant. Here are spicy notes of cinnamon, ginger, caramel and vanilla.
Serving suggestion: Should be enjoyed neat.
Kurayoshi Distillery is located at the foot of Mt. The Daisen in Tottori, Japan. The location was chosen because of the good spring water, which Kurayoshi believes is one of the most essential parts of a good whisky, but also because of the climate. The temperature fluctuates a lot, and this causes a greater interaction between the spirit and the cask – therefore it is believed that the whiskey “ripens” faster than, for example, in Scotland. A large number of different types of casks are used, e.g. of the Japanese oak type, mizunara, but also casks made of e.g. cherry wood, wine casks and sherry casks.
The distillery is owned by the company Matsui Shuzo, which has been making shochu since 1910! They only got the license for whiskey production in 2015, in the wake of a huge whiskey boom in Japan, and in 2018 Matsui got another license for a distillery in Baba, Tottori.
In the 2020 edition of Jim Murray’s “Whisky Bible”, The Matsui Mizunara Cask was named Japanese Single Malt of the Year!
