The Matsui Mizunara Cask Single Malt Japanese Whisky

Finished in Mizunara oak. Need we say more?

Some people are just born lucky. And it seems like The Matsui Shuzou Distillery hit the jackpot with its favorable positioning in the naturally diverse Tottori Prefecture. This region is the home of Japan’s largest dune system and a vast volcanic mountain surrounded by bewitching beech forests, lengthy coastlines, and fertile plains. But, the most important blessing is probably Mount Daisen, a natural source of crystal-clear mineral water, filtered through the volcanic stone. This spring water is used to distill their Sake, Shōchū, and Whisky, resulting in significant purity and a unique, soft mineral composition.

Made in the new Matsui-owned Kurayoshi Distillery, this Mizunara Cask Single Malt Japanese Whisky aged up in that revered, rare, and complex Japanese Mizunara oak. For all of you who don’t know, the oak imprints a different character onto the Whisky, usually leaving it with more pronounced notes of sandalwood, coconut, spice, and Japanese incense.

Bottled at 48% ABV and blended with the water from Mt. Daisen, this non-age statement Whisky already snatched the award for “Best Japanese Single Malt” in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible in 2020 and won a Double Gold award at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2019. Oh, and the bottle features Katsushika Hokusai’s masterpiece Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji. The red-crowned cranes depicted in the picture are known as symbols of luck, longevity, and fidelity.