{"title":"Japanese Whisky","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"akkeshi-daikan-blended-japanese-whisky","title":"Akkeshi Daikan Blended Japanese Whisky","description":"\u003cp\u003eAkkeshi Daikan Blended Japanese Whisky is a blended whisky from the Akkeshi distillery in eastern Hokkaido.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGreater cold, the last of the twenty-four solar terms of the traditional Japanese calendar, gives this bottling its name, and the depth of winter suits the place. Akkeshi sits on Hokkaido's Pacific coast, where sea fog rolls in through summer and the bay freezes hard in the cold months. The distillery was built in 2016 with Islay in mind. Barley is grown and bought locally, peat is cut nearby, and a share of the spirit matures in Mizunara casks coopered from Hokkaido oak. Blends in this series bring malt together with grain whisky, and blender Keiichi Toita builds each one to read as a season.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe house peat is present but restrained, sitting under malt sweetness, orchard fruit and a coastal saltiness. Try it neat at room temperature first, then with a few drops of water. It makes a clean, smoky highball with plenty of hard ice and good soda.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DiVino.com.au","offers":[{"title":"Whisky \/ Hokkaido \/ Akkeshi Distillery","offer_id":44287990431803,"sku":"20804-700","price":511.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0823\/1483\/files\/20804-700.png?v=1790124391"},{"product_id":"akkeshi-distillery-boshu-single-malt-japanese-whisky","title":"Akkeshi Distillery Boshu Single Malt Japanese Whisky","description":"\u003cp\u003eAkkeshi Distillery Boshu Single Malt Japanese Whisky is a peated single malt from eastern Hokkaido.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGrain in ear, the solar term this whisky takes its name from, falls in early June, when barley heads fill out. That is a fitting reference for a distillery which has put its own barley at the centre of the project: the team oversees growing and harvest on Hokkaido land near the site, and supplements it with imported malt when the peating level calls for it. The town itself is a fishing and oyster port on the Pacific edge of the island, wrapped in fog through summer and frozen hard in winter, and that swing works on casks in the warehouse. A portion of the stock goes into Mizunara, cut from Hokkaido oak.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePeat smoke arrives first, dry and faintly medicinal, then malt, lemon and a wisp of sea air. Drink it neat in a small glass, no colder than the room. A splash of water opens the malt sweetness, and it holds together well over one large cube.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DiVino.com.au","offers":[{"title":"Whisky \/ Hokkaido \/ Akkeshi Distillery","offer_id":44287990726715,"sku":"19944-700","price":529.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0823\/1483\/files\/19944-700.png?v=1790124460"},{"product_id":"akkeshi-distillery-foundations-1-single-malt","title":"Akkeshi Distillery Foundations #1 Single Malt","description":"\u003cp\u003eAkkeshi Distillery Foundations #1 Single Malt is a 200ml early release from the distillery's first years of production.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Foundations bottlings were how a young Hokkaido distillery showed its working. Released in small format while the stock was still very young, they let drinkers follow the spirit's development year by year instead of waiting a decade for a first single malt. Distilling began in 2016 on the Pacific coast of eastern Hokkaido, in a town better known for oysters, with the cold, foggy, maritime conditions that drew comparisons to Islay from the outset. Local barley, locally cut peat and Mizunara casks from Hokkaido oak were all part of the plan from the beginning.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYoung, bright and forthright, with peat smoke over malt, green apple and a saline finish. Small pours are the way to approach it, neat and at room temperature. Keep water to a few drops. At this age it is better tasted carefully than mixed.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DiVino.com.au","offers":[{"title":"Whisky \/ Hokkaido \/ Akkeshi Distillery","offer_id":44287991054395,"sku":"16359-200","price":170.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0823\/1483\/files\/16359-200.png?v=1790124516"},{"product_id":"akkeshi-distillery-foundations-2-bourbon-barrel-single-malt-spirit","title":"Akkeshi Distillery Foundations #2 Bourbon Barrel Single Malt Spirit","description":"\u003cp\u003eAkkeshi Distillery Foundations #2 Bourbon Barrel Single Malt Spirit is a 200ml release of young single malt matured in ex-bourbon wood.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is labelled spirit because it had not yet spent the three years in cask that the word whisky requires. This was the second of the Foundations releases and the first to put a single cask type in the title. Ex-bourbon barrels are the workhorse of the industry for good reason: American oak gives vanilla, coconut and a sweet edge that suits peated malt well. The warehouses sit on the eastern Pacific coast of Hokkaido, where summer fog and a deep winter freeze make for slow, uneven maturation. Small bottles like this one were the distillery's way of releasing work in progress honestly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVanilla and toasted malt lead, with peat smoke behind and a clean, spirity lift to close. Room temperature, neat, in a small glass. There is enough sweetness to sit in a highball with plenty of ice if you want to stretch it out.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DiVino.com.au","offers":[{"title":"Whisky \/ Hokkaido \/ Akkeshi Distillery","offer_id":44287991283771,"sku":"16435-200","price":173.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0823\/1483\/files\/16435-200.png?v=1790124514"},{"product_id":"akkeshi-distillery-foundations-3-mizunara-cask-single-malt-spirit","title":"Akkeshi Distillery Foundations #3 Mizunara Cask Single Malt Spirit","description":"\u003cp\u003eAkkeshi Distillery Foundations #3 Mizunara Cask Single Malt Spirit is a 200ml release of young Akkeshi single malt matured in Japanese oak.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMizunara has given Japanese whisky much of its reputation, lending incense, sandalwood and coconut, and it is notoriously difficult wood to work with: porous, crooked and prone to leaking. Akkeshi has the advantage of growing on the doorstep, since Hokkaido is Mizunara country and the casks are sourced and coopered on the island. Released before the spirit reached three years, and so labelled spirit and not whisky, this was the third in the Foundations run and an early look at how the distillery's peated malt would take to that wood.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIncense and sandalwood sit over malt and a dry, coastal smoke, with the wood already making itself felt. Serve neat, at room temperature, in a small measure. Water flattens the Mizunara aromatics, so go easy, and leave this one out of cocktails entirely.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DiVino.com.au","offers":[{"title":"Whisky \/ Hokkaido \/ Akkeshi Distillery","offer_id":44287991480379,"sku":"17135-200","price":213.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0823\/1483\/files\/17135-200.png?v=1790124512"},{"product_id":"akkeshi-distillery-foundations-4-malt-and-grain-spirit","title":"Akkeshi Distillery Foundations #4 Malt \u0026 Grain Spirit","description":"\u003cp\u003eAkkeshi Distillery Foundations #4 Malt \u0026amp; Grain Spirit is a 200ml blend of young malt and grain spirit from eastern Hokkaido.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy the fourth of these small releases the distillery had begun to look at blending, bringing grain spirit alongside its own peated malt to see how the two sat together. That practice runs right through the range today, where the blended bottlings pair Hokkaido malt with grain stock bought as new make and matured in-house. Keiichi Toita, who blends them, has a long career in Japanese whisky behind him, and the house approach leans savoury and coastal, with peat treated as a structural element and not a special effect. Under three years old at bottling, hence spirit on the label.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLighter and sweeter than the single malts, with cereal, soft toffee and a thread of smoke. Neat at room temperature shows it best, though this is also the one in the series worth putting in a highball, long and very cold.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DiVino.com.au","offers":[{"title":"Whisky \/ Hokkaido \/ Akkeshi Distillery","offer_id":44287991676987,"sku":"18538-200","price":200.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0823\/1483\/files\/18538-200.png?v=1790124514"},{"product_id":"akkeshi-distillery-kanro-single-malt-japanese-whisky","title":"Akkeshi Distillery Kanro Single Malt Japanese Whisky","description":"\u003cp\u003eAkkeshi Distillery Kanro Single Malt Japanese Whisky is a peated Hokkaido single malt from the distillery's 24 Sekki series.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCold dew is the English for the solar term behind the name, an October marker when mornings on the Hokkaido coast begin to bite. The 24 Sekki series takes its names from the traditional Japanese division of the year into twenty-four short seasons, and each release is built to carry something of the term it belongs to. Distilling here has gone on since 2016, in a fishing town on the island's Pacific edge, using barley grown on Hokkaido, peat cut locally and a mix of ex-bourbon, sherry and Mizunara wood. The maritime setting is not decoration: fog, salt air and hard winters all show up in the glass.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDry peat, malt loaf and a citrus lift, finishing salty and long. Pour it neat at room temperature and give it a minute in the glass. A single drop of water lengthens it. If you are mixing, keep it to a smoky highball with hard ice.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DiVino.com.au","offers":[{"title":"Whisky \/ Hokkaido \/ Akkeshi Distillery","offer_id":44287991873595,"sku":"19236-700","price":581.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0823\/1483\/files\/19236-700.png?v=1790124459"},{"product_id":"akkeshi-distillery-sarorunkamuy-2020","title":"Akkeshi Distillery Sarorunkamuy 2020","description":"\u003cp\u003eAkkeshi Distillery Sarorunkamuy is a 200ml single malt named for the red-crowned crane of the Akkeshi marshes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Ainu called the red-crowned crane sarurunkamuy, and the bird winters in the wetlands behind the distillery, so the choice of name says a good deal about how this operation sees itself. Local first, in other words. The site lies on the eastern Pacific coast of Hokkaido, hemmed in by marshland, bay and fog, and that has been leaned into from the first year of production in 2016: barley from the island, peat cut nearby, Mizunara casks coopered from Hokkaido oak. Early bottlings came out in small format while the spirit was still young, and this is one of them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePeat and brine up front, then malt, dried citrus and a faintly herbal finish. Neat, room temperature, small pour. Water is not needed here. If you want something longer, keep it simple with cold soda and a lot of ice.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DiVino.com.au","offers":[{"title":"Whisky \/ Hokkaido \/ Akkeshi Distillery","offer_id":44287992660027,"sku":"18171-200","price":211.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0823\/1483\/files\/18171-200.png?v=1790124516"},{"product_id":"akkeshi-distillery-usui-blended-japanese-whisky","title":"Akkeshi Distillery Usui Blended Japanese Whisky","description":"\u003cp\u003eAkkeshi Distillery Usui Blended Japanese Whisky is a blended whisky named for the solar term that marks the turn from snow to rain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRain water falls in late February, when snow gives way to rain and the ground begins to let go of winter, which on the Hokkaido coast is a slow and grudging business. Blends in this series put the distillery's own peated malt together with grain whisky matured on site, aiming for the coastal house signature in a lighter frame. The location is an unlikely one for whisky by Japanese standards: a small fishing and oyster port facing the Pacific, cold and foggy, with barley grown on the island and peat cut close by.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSofter than the single malts, with malt sweetness, pear and toffee, and smoke drifting along behind. Room temperature and neat is a fair start, but this is a blend made for length. Build it as a highball with plenty of ice and cold soda.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DiVino.com.au","offers":[{"title":"Whisky \/ Hokkaido \/ Akkeshi Distillery","offer_id":44287992823867,"sku":"19943-700","price":340.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0823\/1483\/files\/19943-700.png?v=1790124459"},{"product_id":"akkeshi-ritto-single-malt-japanese-whisky","title":"Akkeshi Ritto Single Malt Japanese Whisky","description":"\u003cp\u003eAkkeshi Ritto Single Malt Japanese Whisky is a peated single malt named for the solar term that opens winter.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe beginning of winter in the old Japanese calendar arrives in early November, and in eastern Hokkaido that means the first serious cold. The annual swing here, from humid fogbound summers to a long deep freeze, is one of the more interesting things about maturing whisky on this coast, and it works on casks differently to the mild damp of Scotland. Ex-bourbon barrels hold the bulk of the stock, with sherry, wine casks and Hokkaido Mizunara used for seasoning and complexity. The malt is peated, some of it from barley grown on the island under the distillery's own eye.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSmoke here is dry and ashy, wrapped around malt, orchard fruit and a salty close. Neat at room temperature, in a tulip glass if you have one. It holds its shape over a large cube, and a smoky highball is never a bad idea with this house style.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DiVino.com.au","offers":[{"title":"Whisky \/ Hokkaido \/ Akkeshi Distillery","offer_id":44287992987707,"sku":"20805-700","price":705.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0823\/1483\/files\/20805-700.png?v=1790124391"},{"product_id":"akkeshi-seimei-single-malt-japanese-whisky","title":"Akkeshi Seimei Single Malt Japanese Whisky","description":"\u003cp\u003eAkkeshi Seimei Single Malt Japanese Whisky is a high-strength peated single malt from eastern Hokkaido.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe name abbreviates a phrase meaning clean, bright and lively, and it belongs to a mid-April solar term, when grass and flowers come up and the year starts moving again. The final blend was being assembled at exactly that point. Two barleys went in: the distillery's own Hokkaido crop, grown and harvested under the team's supervision, and Scottish Concerto malted to fifty parts per million of phenol. Seven cask types were drawn on, peated and unpeated, roughly seventy per cent ex-bourbon with Mizunara, sherry and wine casks filling out the rest. The average age of the components is four years, and this is the seventh release in the series.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBright and high-toned for a peated whisky: lemon, green herb and malt with smoke sitting behind, and real heat at 55 per cent. Neat first, then a few drops of water, which pulls the spring character forward. Good with grilled oily fish, or on its own.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DiVino.com.au","offers":[{"title":"Whisky \/ Hokkaido \/ Akkeshi Distillery","offer_id":44287993217083,"sku":"21518-700","price":483.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0823\/1483\/files\/21518-700.png?v=1790124306"},{"product_id":"akkeshi-shosho-blended-japanese-whisky","title":"Akkeshi Shosho Blended Japanese Whisky","description":"\u003cp\u003eAkkeshi Shosho Blended Japanese Whisky is a blended whisky named for the solar term at the end of summer's heat.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe end of the heat falls in late August, though on the Hokkaido coast the real marker is the lifting of the sea fog that sits over Akkeshi Bay all summer. The town is an oyster port first and a whisky town second, and the distillery has made a virtue of that: cold, damp, salty and a long way from anywhere. For the blends, grain spirit is bought as new make and matured in the distillery's own warehouses alongside the peated Hokkaido malt, so every component ages in one place and one climate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGentle smoke over caramel, cereal and baked apple, with the saline snap of the house on the close. Neat suits it, no ice. It is also the sort of blend that makes an excellent highball: tall glass, hard ice, cold soda, a twist of lemon if you like.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DiVino.com.au","offers":[{"title":"Whisky \/ Hokkaido \/ Akkeshi Distillery","offer_id":44287993413691,"sku":"20806-700","price":458.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0823\/1483\/files\/20806-700.png?v=1790124392"},{"product_id":"akkeshi-taisetsu-single-malt-japanese-whisky","title":"Akkeshi Taisetsu Single Malt Japanese Whisky","description":"\u003cp\u003eAkkeshi Taisetsu Single Malt Japanese Whisky is a lightly peated Hokkaido single malt released as a winter instalment of the distillery's 24 Sekki series.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHeavy snow is the English for the twenty-first of Japan's twenty-four solar terms, and it covers the stretch of the year that takes in the winter solstice and sends bears into hibernation, which is where the animal on the label comes from. Each release in the series is blended to mirror the character of its season, and the styles and cask origins move around a good deal from one to the next. This is among the more restrained peatings the distillery has put out in recent years, which lets the wood and the malt do more of the talking. Bottled at 55 per cent.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToffee, orange peel and malted milk on the nose, with peat tucked in behind, then a round, loud palate moving through pineapple and dried mango to chocolate, mint and white pepper. Neat at room temperature, water only if you want it. Try it after dinner with dark chocolate.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DiVino.com.au","offers":[{"title":"Whisky \/ Saitama \/ Akkeshi Distillery","offer_id":44287993610299,"sku":"21774-700","price":617.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0823\/1483\/files\/21774-700.png?v=1790124307"},{"product_id":"akkeshi-taisho-blended-whisky","title":"Akkeshi Taisho Blended Whisky","description":"\u003cp\u003eAkkeshi Taisho Blended Whisky is a peated blend from eastern Hokkaido bottled at 48 per cent.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGreat heat, the twelfth of the twenty-four solar terms, is the hottest stretch of the Japanese year and a season of festivals and fireworks. The indigo label takes its cue from the yukata worn through those months. Production details are kept close, but the backbone is malt made entirely from Hokkaido barley and matured in a mix of casks including Mizunara and ex-bourbon. To that the team adds imported grain spirit, bought as new make and aged from the start in the distillery's own warehouses. Nine separate components went into the blend.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSavoury, saline peat sits at the front, with spun sugar, tropical fruit, deep citrus, burnt sage and green almond coming through behind it, and a long, spicy, salty close. It shifts constantly in the glass, so give it time and skip the water. Room temperature, neat.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DiVino.com.au","offers":[{"title":"Whisky \/ Saitama \/ Akkeshi Distillery","offer_id":44287993806907,"sku":"21775-700","price":441.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0823\/1483\/files\/21775-700.png?v=1790124307"},{"product_id":"akkeshi-usui-blended-japanese-whisky-2021","title":"Akkeshi Usui Blended Japanese Whisky 2021","description":"\u003cp\u003eAkkeshi Usui Blended Japanese Whisky is an early release in the Hokkaido distillery's 24 Sekki run, pairing its own peated malt with grain whisky.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwenty-four releases is a long commitment, and that is what the Sekki series amounts to: one whisky for each of the short seasons the traditional Japanese calendar divides the year into. Keiichi Toita, who blends them, has worked in Japanese whisky for decades, and his signature here is a peat that reads savoury and coastal instead of sweet. This was one of the earlier entries, from a distillery that only began filling casks in 2016, so the components are young by any measure. That is part of the appeal, because the raw materials are unusually local: island barley, peat cut nearby, Hokkaido Mizunara.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLight on its feet, with cereal sweetness, poached pear and a smoky thread that builds slowly. Chill it down in a highball with plenty of ice, or take it neat at room temperature. It handles food better than most blends, so try it with yakitori.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DiVino.com.au","offers":[{"title":"Whisky \/ Hokkaido \/ Akkeshi Distillery","offer_id":44287994036283,"sku":"20803-700","price":379.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0823\/1483\/files\/20803-700.png?v=1790124390"},{"product_id":"chichibu-ichiro-s-malt-and-grain-limited-edition","title":"Chichibu Ichiro's Malt and Grain Limited Edition","description":"\u003cp\u003eChichibu Ichiro's Malt and Grain Limited Edition is a world blended whisky bottled at 48% ABV behind a blue label.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIchiro Akuto built the Chichibu distillery in Saitama in 2008, and he can also reach into family stocks far older than that — his grandfather's Hanyu distillery, closed and sold at the turn of the century. This is the senior sibling to the standard Malt and Grain, drawing on the same spread of Scotch, Canadian rye, American bourbon, Irish whiskey and Chichibu's own single malt, but with a higher proportion of malt and a core of very old Akuto stock, some of it up to forty years. Every component is aged at least ten years before vatting, and the marriage happens in Mizunara oak.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePour it neat in a tulip glass at room temperature, with water on the side. The grain sits back while apple pie and spice, lemon curd and oats give way to toffee, malt and a whisper of salty smoke. It will make a very fine Old Fashioned if you can bear to.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DiVino.com.au","offers":[{"title":"Whisky \/ Saitama \/ Chichibu","offer_id":44288076775483,"sku":"16085-700","price":344.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0823\/1483\/files\/16085-700.png?v=1790124514"},{"product_id":"chichibu-ichiro-s-malt-double-distilleries-pure-malt-whisky","title":"Chichibu Ichiro's Malt Double Distilleries Pure Malt Whisky","description":"\u003cp\u003eChichibu Ichiro's Malt Double Distilleries Pure Malt Whisky is a vatting of Hanyu and Chichibu single malts at 46% ABV.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo generations and two distilleries meet in this bottle. Hanyu was built by Ichiro Akuto's grandfather and sold in 2000 to a Kyoto shochu producer; Akuto managed to rescue just 400 casks of mature whisky from its vaults before the stills were lost. Chichibu, in Saitama, is his own distillery, opened in 2008 and now the most closely watched small operation in Japan. The Hanyu material was traditionally matured in sherry hogsheads while the younger Chichibu distillate saw Japanese oak, and the two are vatted together in Mizunara at Chichibu. Non-chill filtered, with no added colouring.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe delicate sweetness and punchy fruit of the Chichibu malt dovetails with the barley-rich, structured Hanyu. Drink it neat at room temperature with a few drops of water; ice flattens the fruit. Far too scarce to bury in a highball.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DiVino.com.au","offers":[{"title":"Whisky \/ Saitama \/ Chichibu","offer_id":44288076873787,"sku":"15856-700","price":344.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0823\/1483\/files\/15856-700.png?v=1790124517"},{"product_id":"chichibu-ichiro-s-malt-mizunara-wood-reserve-pure-malt-whisky","title":"Chichibu Ichiro's Malt Mizunara Wood Reserve Pure Malt Whisky","description":"\u003cp\u003eChichibu Ichiro's Malt Mizunara Wood Reserve is a pure malt raised start to finish in Japanese oak, bottled at 46% ABV.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMizunara is rare, expensive and awkward to work with — it leaks, it warps, it takes years to season — and Ichiro Akuto accepts all of it for the aromatics, which Dave Broom characterises as sandalwood, cedar and aloeswood with coconut and a leafy edge. Chichibu's washbacks are built from the same timber, and this bottling has spent its whole life in it: fermentation, maturation and vatting. A partial solera keeps the older material refreshed with younger single malt, which builds complexity while holding the release reasonably consistent from batch to batch. Non-chill filtered and uncoloured.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePour it neat into a copita and give it a few minutes; the Mizunara character asks for air more than water. Sandalwood and incense sit over orchard fruit and soft spice. Leave this one out of cocktails — the oak signature vanishes under anything else.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DiVino.com.au","offers":[{"title":"Whisky \/ Saitama \/ Chichibu","offer_id":44288077070395,"sku":"15858-700","price":344.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0823\/1483\/files\/15858-700.png?v=1790124516"},{"product_id":"chichibu-ichiro-s-malt-the-peated-whisky-2022","title":"Chichibu Ichiro's Malt The Peated Whisky 2022","description":"\u003cp\u003eChichibu Ichiro's Malt The Peated is a cask-strength peated single malt from Saitama, bottled at 53.5% ABV.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNearly everything that comes off the stills at Chichibu is unpeated and made from Norfolk barley; peated new make is distilled in a short window in the final month before the distillery shuts for maintenance, which is why these releases appear so seldom. This one followed a four-year gap, the previous bottling having marked the distillery's tenth anniversary in 2018. Maturation ran five to seven years in ex-bourbon barrels and it goes into bottle at cask strength, undiluted. Ichiro Akuto founded the distillery in 2008, and demand has outrun supply every year since.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt this strength water helps: start neat, then add drops until the smoke settles back into the malt. The peat is restrained — earthy, faintly medicinal — over bourbon-cask vanilla. An after-dinner dram, and mixing it would be a waste.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DiVino.com.au","offers":[{"title":"Whisky \/ Saitama \/ Chichibu","offer_id":44288077889595,"sku":"21522-700","price":572.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0823\/1483\/files\/21522-700.png?v=1790124303"},{"product_id":"chichibu-ichiro-s-malt-wine-wood-reserve","title":"Chichibu Ichiro's Malt Wine Wood Reserve","description":"\u003cp\u003eChichibu Ichiro's Malt Wine Wood Reserve is a pure malt matured in wine-seasoned French oak, bottled at 46.5% ABV.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLike the other Leaf Series bottlings, this brings together single malts from Hanyu and Chichibu. The Hanyu portion matured in French oak that had previously held Japanese red wine; the Chichibu portion spent its time in Ovum casks — 20-hectolitre egg-shaped French oak vessels shaped by Taransaud in the Charente. Wine-cask finishes are notoriously hard to land, and plenty of distillers steer clear of them altogether, which is part of why this bottling has the reputation it does. The colour is deep and entirely natural.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA vinous nose with nut, berry and spice, then a spicy palate balanced by sweetness and a close tinged with dark chocolate and faint smoke. Serve neat at room temperature in a tulip glass. Water is optional here; ice is not recommended.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DiVino.com.au","offers":[{"title":"Whisky \/ Saitama \/ Chichibu","offer_id":44288078250043,"sku":"15857-700","price":344.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0823\/1483\/files\/15857-700.png?v=1790124516"},{"product_id":"chichibu-ichiro-s-the-peated-10th-anniversary","title":"Chichibu Ichiro's The Peated 10th Anniversary","description":"\u003cp\u003eChichibu Ichiro's The Peated 10th Anniversary is a limited peated single malt marking ten years of the Saitama distillery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIchiro Akuto fired up the stills at Chichibu in 2008, the first new malt distillery built in Japan in decades, and this bottling was released to mark the tenth year. Peated spirit accounts for only a small share of production and is made in a short annual window, so peated releases under the Ichiro's Malt label are always limited. Akuto's reputation rests on small-batch bottlings, Mizunara oak and an unusually hands-on operation, with malting, fermentation, distillation and cask work all happening on one modest site.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eServe neat in a tulip glass and add water sparingly. Peated Chichibu leans earthy and faintly maritime, a long way from the tarry Islay register. An after-dinner dram to sit with over an hour, not a base for mixing.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DiVino.com.au","offers":[{"title":"Whisky \/ Saitama \/ Chichibu","offer_id":44288078446651,"sku":"17133-700","price":474.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0823\/1483\/files\/17133-700.png?v=1790124513"},{"product_id":"chichibu-ichiro-s-malt-and-grain-blended-whisky","title":"Chichibu Ichiro’s Malt and Grain Blended Whisky","description":"\u003cp\u003eChichibu Ichiro's Malt and Grain Blended Whisky is the 'White Label' world blend, bottled at 46% ABV.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSingle-cask releases are where most of the attention goes, but this is the constant in the range — the whisky Ichiro Akuto is said to drink daily, with a dash of warm water in winter. The back label states the intent plainly: components from England, Canada, the United States, Ireland and Scotland. Proportions are guarded, though it is believed to run about 30 per cent malt to 70 per cent grain, mostly unpeated, averaging ten years with the oldest stocks reaching twenty. The sourced whiskies age at home before two to three years more at Chichibu, then marry in Mizunara tanks with a portion of the previous batch retained.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRye leads the nose, with sherry-cask spice and a touch of peat behind it; the palate turns warm and spicy with banana bread, apricot, orange and peach, and the finish carries a gentle medicinal tang. Neat, or over one large cube. It also makes an excellent highball.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DiVino.com.au","offers":[{"title":"Whisky \/ Saitama \/ Chichibu","offer_id":44288078610491,"sku":"15855-700","price":164.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0823\/1483\/files\/15855-700.png?v=1790124517"},{"product_id":"kanosuke-distillery-single-malt-japanese-whisky-1st-edition-2021","title":"Kanosuke Distillery Single Malt Japanese Whisky 1st Edition 2021","description":"\u003cp\u003eKanosuke Distillery Single Malt Japanese Whisky 1st Edition is a single malt from the Kagoshima coast in southern Japan.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHioki, on the Kagoshima coast at the southern end of Kyushu, is an unlikely spot for a malt distillery: the air here carries sea spray for much of the year. The operation belongs to Komasa Jyozo, a shochu house with well over a century behind it, and the still house went into operation in 2017 with three bespoke pot stills, each built with a different neck shape and lyne arm angle so the team can blend distillates of different weights. Casks that previously held the family's barrel-aged shochu are used alongside more conventional wood. This was the first single malt the distillery released.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRich and rounded, with dried fruit, honey and a warm spiciness that Kanosuke's malts are known for. Best neat in a tulip glass with a few drops of water to open it, or over one large clear cube if the evening is warm. Not one for mixing.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DiVino.com.au","offers":[{"title":"Whisky \/ Kagoshima \/ Kanosuke Distillery","offer_id":44288139591739,"sku":"20808-700","price":476.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0823\/1483\/files\/20808-700.png?v=1790124392"},{"product_id":"kanosuke-distillery-single-malt-japanese-whisky-2021","title":"Kanosuke Distillery Single Malt Japanese Whisky 2021","description":"\u003cp\u003eKanosuke Distillery Single Malt Japanese Whisky is a coastal Japanese single malt from Kagoshima Prefecture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMaturation conditions at Hioki are unusual. The warehouses stand on the shore of the East China Sea, mild through summer and wild and windy the rest of the year, and the salt air works its way into the wood. Behind the whisky is Komasa Jyozo, a long-established Kagoshima shochu producer that added a malt distillery in 2017 and equipped it with three pot stills of differing neck and lyne arm geometry. Ex-shochu casks are part of the maturation regime here, which is not something you find anywhere else.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSmooth and spicy, with orchard fruit, toffee and a faintly saline edge on the finish. Drink it neat at room temperature, or add a little water to release the aromatics. A single large cube works in warm weather; a highball with good soda is the other honest option.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DiVino.com.au","offers":[{"title":"Whisky \/ Kagoshima \/ Kanosuke Distillery","offer_id":44288139886651,"sku":"19945-700","price":465.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0823\/1483\/files\/19945-700.png?v=1790124460"},{"product_id":"kanosuke-distillery-single-malt-japanese-whisky-2nd-edition-2021","title":"Kanosuke Distillery Single Malt Japanese Whisky 2nd Edition 2021","description":"\u003cp\u003eKanosuke Distillery Single Malt Japanese Whisky 2nd Edition is the second single malt release from this young Kagoshima distillery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEstablished distilleries release a new expression every year without much ceremony. For a young operation like this one, opened in 2017 by the Komasa Jyozo shochu house at Hioki on the Kagoshima coast, each early edition is a genuine step. Three bespoke pot stills, each configured differently in the neck and lyne arm, give the blending team a range of distillate characters to work from, and the warehouses sit close enough to the water that sea spray is part of the maturation environment. Ex-shochu casks feature in the wood mix.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLayered and gently spiced, with dried apricot, malt biscuit and a soft smoky warmth through the finish. Serve neat, at room temperature, in a tulip glass; a few drops of water will lift the aromatics. Keep the ice to one large cube if you use it at all.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DiVino.com.au","offers":[{"title":"Whisky \/ Kagoshima \/ Kanosuke Distillery","offer_id":44288140148795,"sku":"20809-700","price":476.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0823\/1483\/files\/20809-700.png?v=1790124389"},{"product_id":"kanosuke-limited-edition-single-malt-japanese-whisky-2022","title":"Kanosuke Limited Edition Single Malt Japanese Whisky 2022","description":"\u003cp\u003eKanosuke Limited Edition Single Malt Japanese Whisky is a cask-strength, unpeated Japanese single malt bottled at 59 per cent.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePosition matters here. The distillery stands in the deep south of Japan, right on the sea, where summers are mild and the rest of the year is wild and windy enough that the air inside is regularly laced with sea spray. Three bespoke pot stills, each with a different neck shape and lyne arm angle, give the malts their combination of smoothness and spice. This third Limited Edition is entirely unpeated malt, distilled between 2017 and 2019 across all three stills, then bottled at cask strength in June 2022. Unlike the previous year's two releases, sherry casks make up roughly 30 per cent of this blend, with the balance from mellow ex-shochu barrels and a smaller share of ex-bourbon wood.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConcentrated and warming, with dried fig, dark honey, clove and a spicy, saline finish that the strength drives hard. Neat first, then a few drops of water to unpack it. One large cube is acceptable. Do not bury this in a cocktail.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DiVino.com.au","offers":[{"title":"Whisky \/ Kagoshima \/ Kanosuke Distillery","offer_id":44288140279867,"sku":"21521-700","price":458.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0823\/1483\/files\/21521-700.png?v=1790124303"},{"product_id":"yuza-second-edition-single-malt-japanese-whisky","title":"Yuza Second Edition Single Malt Japanese Whisky","description":"\u003cp\u003eYuza Second Edition is a cask strength single malt Japanese whisky from Yamagata Prefecture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMasaharu Sasaki did not follow the usual path for a new Japanese distillery. Instead of putting out newborn spirit while stocks matured, the decision was made to enter the market with a finished single malt, which took Gold at the San Francisco International Spirits Challenge. This second release was selected from casks filled during the first season of production, February to July 2019. The composition is not confirmed, but the selection is thought to run as high as 80 per cent ex-sherry barrels. Where the First Edition was raised in ex-bourbon and came out bright, this one was blended for depth and weight.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA whisper of peat and fragrant cereal on the nose, then stone fruit and fig; oily and round in the mouth, earthy, with spice and oats, closing dry with liquorice and a mineral tang. Neat at room temperature, water optional. Old-world in style, closer to good Speyside than to anything modern.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DiVino.com.au","offers":[{"title":"Whisky \/ Yamagata \/ Yuza Distillery","offer_id":44288366706747,"sku":"21776-700","price":492.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0823\/1483\/files\/21776-700.png?v=1790124308"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.divino.com.au\/collections\/japanese-whisky.oembed?page=2","provider":"DiVino.com.au","version":"1.0","type":"link"}