Akkeshi Taisetsu Single Malt Japanese Whisky

Akkeshi Taisetsu Single Malt Japanese Whisky is a lightly peated Hokkaido single malt released as a winter instalment of the distillery's 24 Sekki series.

Heavy 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.

Toffee, 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.