Akkeshi Taisho Blended Whisky

Akkeshi Taisho Blended Whisky is a peated blend from eastern Hokkaido bottled at 48 per cent.

Great 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.

Savoury, 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.