92 points – Whiskey & Rum Magasinet
The Matsui Sakura Cask is a Japanese single malt whisky, released by one of the brand new stars on the Japanese whiskey scene: Kurayoshi Distillery. This version is aged in so-called “Sakura Casks”, which are casks made of cherry wood – not something you see very often, and never outside of Japan. The whiskey is bottled at 48% alcohol without the addition of colourants.
Colour: Light golden.
Aroma: Soft, fresh notes of almond and marzipan, cherry blossom and freshly washed laundry.
Tasting notes: The taste is crisp and fresh, with hints of citrus, melon, almond.
Serving suggestions: Should be enjoyed neat, possibly with a drop of water.
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!
