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Whisky Reviews

SHIZUOKA 2018, 5 YEAR OLD, ONLY ONE MIZUNARA CASK, PRIVATE CASK FOR KINKO, 57.3%
ABV | 静岡 2018-2023 オンリーワン ミズナラカスク 5年 ウイスキー キンコーさんPB

June 25, 2024

Is this not such a striking label? Those familiar with the Japanese bar scene
might quickly recognise it as being from Kinko, a reputable liquor store in
Kagoshima on Japan's Kyushu island. They're always using these very distinct
traditional Ukiyo-e styled Japanese art labels that feature rabbits in various
otherwise human activities.

Now Kinko has been around for quite some time and in that time they're said to
have developed a very good relationship with distilleries in both Japan and
abroad, which has led them to being rather prolific in their independent
bottlings and distribution of quite a range of quality spirits that includes rum
and Scotch whisky.

And as we know, the name of the game as an independent bottler and distributor
is all about relationship with distilleries - the warmer the relationship, the
better the quality of what an independent bottler or distributor gets to offer
their customers in turn. Better selection, first pick of the best casks, getting
first dibs at new releases - in the world of spirits, it's incredible crucial
for the distillery to like you (rather than definitively being the other way
around). And in turn, customers flock to those who are fewer degrees of
separation away from the distillery. And so, to spell it out - Kinko is one you
should definitely keep an eye out for. If you see it at a bar, it's almost
certainly going to be worth your buck.

Now back to those bunny-themed labels, Kinko has them for quite some Japanese
single malt bottlings thus far, including Chichibu, Mars and Akashi, amongst
others. The art actually comes from a Japanese ukiyo-e master, Utagawa
Yoshifuji, who lived during the late Edo and early Meiji periods. Like many
ukiyo-e masters who specialise in the woodblock print medium of the time,
Yoshifuji would produce numerous series depicting a range of subjects, although
what he really became known for was a style called Omocha-e, which were
specifically for children. Omocha-e prints were designed to be cut into various
pieces and then pasted to make a picture of a toy, alittle bit like a puzzle.
And so one of Yoshifuji's popular Omocha-e prints was a series that depicted
rabbits in everyday human activities - that's the one used in Kinko-bottled
Japanese whiskies.

And behind these rather cutesy bunny prints is actually a rather fascinating
story!

Most folks today would probably know alittle bit about financial bubbles - some
say NFT's, crypto, tech stocks, what have you. Well, in the 1870's, which was
around the time Yoshifuji made these rabbit-themed Omocha-e prints, Japan had
gone through a Rabbit Bubble. See in the early Meiji Period, a ban on foreign
trade had been lifted and pet rabbits became one of the more popular imports.
Japanese folks had then considered Western culture to be of a higher social
status, and had sought to emulate it - and you guessed it, having a pet rabbit
was a relatively easy way to do so! Rabbits became quite the status symbol much
as you would Chanel handbags, Rolex watches or Mercedes-Benz cars. The prices of
these rabbits would skyrocket, and many folks got into the business of breeding
these rabbits. Prized the most amongst them was the Sarasa-Moyo (Chintz Pattern)
rabbit - that was one that black spots on white fur. You might see this today
and laugh, but at one point male Chintz pattern rabbits would sell for as high
as US$86,000 today as some scholars estimate!

Speculation became rife, and by extension rabbit fraud, with some folks dyeing
their rabbits fur to make some quick money. Rabbit theft was prevalent and some
folks were even murdered over some rabbit-fuelled disputes! The Japanese
government was obviously very concerned and took to introducing an actual rabbit
tax. Of course, many folks would try to sneak away with keeping rabbits in
secret, and so a snitching system had to be introduced, with over 300 people
being interrogated. This triggered a bust in the Rabbit Bubble, which was the
end of it. That was amusingly until about five decades later when there was
another Rabbit Bubble that emerged again in Japan, this time over Angora species
rabbits. Oh Japan.

And so as Rabbitmania swept Japan in the late 1800's, anything Rabbit themed was
going to do very well, and thus Yoshifuji was probably cashing in on it as well
with his bunny depictions in his Omocha-e prints.

So back to the bottle - now I don't have the story from the horse's mouth, but
from what I was told, what's really special here is that this is the single only
Mizunara cask matured Japanese single malt from Shizuoka. It appears that the
folks at Shizuoka are rather traditional and have thus stuck largely to
ex-Bourbon barrels, with the occasional Wine casks (sourced locally) and Sherry
casks. They've definitely taken a different approach than much of what the
whisky world has been fascinated by with the use of ever more exotic cask
finishes - instead, they have preferred to focus on showcasing the use of local
barley and the difference between it's two pot stills (one of which being
salvaged from the legendary demolished old Karuizawa Distillery).

And so how this private cask came to be was that the folks at Kinko had
apparently brought their own Mizunara cask and had requested to have Shizuoka's
whisky be aged in it - thus Kinko calls it the "Only One Mizunara Cask". With
only 163 bottles coming out of this one and only Mizunara cask, this is most
definitely going to be an incredibly elusive bottle to get a hold of! Remember
what we mentioned about Kinko having a great relationship with Shizuoka, I
honestly think if it weren't Kinko, there aren't that many other folks who could
get Shizuoka to do something like this!

It's aged for 5 years which is also the maximum limit allowed by Shizuoka
Distillery for its private cask program, non-peated malt, and a combination of
both its Karuizawa pot still and Woodfired pot still.

Let's give it a go!

SHIZUOKA 2018, 5 YEAR OLD, ONLY ONE MIZUNARA CASK, PRIVATE CASK FOR KINKO, 57.3%
ABV | 静岡 2018-2023 オンリーワン ミズナラカスク 5年 ウイスキー キンコーさんPB - REVIEW

TASTING NOTES

Colour: Honey

Aroma: Super rich and honeyed notes of dried honeycomb; deep, deep, bountiful
wafts of vanilla, tonka beans, coconut, completely integrated with that
honeycomb. It’s bright, rich and vibrant, with so much depth. At the same time
it’s utterly confectionary, buttery and malty, it’s like a mash up of butter
coconut biscuits, and also marzipan. It also borders on the most buttery of
pineapple tarts. The coconut flake scents are so vibrant and buttery and
honeyed. There’s also a very aromatic mustiness of lacquered wood furnishing and
agarwood.

With time, it almost feels tropical, almost rum like (specifically Foursquare
Rum from Barbados, if I’m being specific) - cola syrup, licorice candy,
sarsaparilla, coconut, brown sugar. There’s also some orange liqueur, as well as
some very gentle but prominent peanut butter funk and parsley. It just keeps
evolving and developing every few minutes!

Taste: Punchy, with an initial note of orange zest, and then a super focused and
concentrated honeyed and candied note that just mellows out. There’s a white
peppery note but it’s almost just tingly. There’s heaps of desiccated coconut
coated in honey. It’s incredibly buttery and malty. Also a sort of sweet ash,
and a very aromatic woodiness of virgin oak - it’s fresh and bright. It’s
altogether vibrant and bright, with loads of richness and is medium-bodied. It’s
got this amazing intensity and its flavours are very forward and elegant in its
precision.

Finish: It persists in its intensity, super candied, citruses, coconut, crumbled
Graham cracker, maltose candy. It’s so honeyed, buttery and aromatic. It doesn’t
even thin out. It just goes on forever. That sweet ash is well integrated in its
concentrated delivery. Even in the aftertaste it just stays in its aromas -
ridiculously aromatic. It keeps with that citrus, coconut, maltiness, it’s so
focused and doesn’t ever let up.

MY THOUGHTS

I have to say that this is far and away one of the best whiskies I have ever
tasted. Ignore that it’s the perfect embodiment of that legendary, highly touted
yet almost mythical and illusory Mizunara flavour. Every distillery touts
Mizunara and yet all we ever get is just vague and fleeting glimpses of it -
this is the real f**king deal - it is so ridiculously vibrant, forward, and with
the greatest intensity in that Mizunara flavour from the nose to the palate and
finish. I have not had anything like this.

But again, ignore all that. This packs so much intensity, balance and
complexity. It is everything you want in a perfect whisky, much less a perfect
example of a Japanese single malt. On the nose, it starts off vibrant and yet
structured, it’s precise and intense. It’s got great richness and depth that you
could just keep nosing and as it evolves that richness and depth doesn’t even
crack. With time it evolves into something reminiscent of Bajan rum from
Foursquare, and with even more time, it’s almost Bourbon-like. And in every
profile it evolves into, it embodies the more classic and best representation of
that profile. If this was a rum - it’d be the perfect rum. If it were a Bourbon
- it’d be the perfect Bourbon.

And that’s just the nose. On the palate, again great intensity, vibrance,
richness. It moves fast with power and energy, but at the same time the flavours
are forward and intense. Here rather than capture a wide spread of flavours, the
complexity come from its elegance. It most keeps within a small set of flavours
- citrus, coconut, malt, wood, ash, honey - but it does so with such
concentration and focus. The flavours are well-developed and expressed,
completely cohesive, delivering a sweet, ashy and tropical, buttery palate. It
somehow finds a way to be intense and yet mellow at the same time. Again the
elegance is in how simply delicious this is. You could break this all down
technically as to why it’s so perfectly executed, but just the act of tasting it
would convince you how straightforward and ridiculously tasty this is. These
technical proficiencies are second to how they all come together to deliver this
one perfectly cohesive and distinct flavour. It’s so singular.

The finish demonstrates once again that intensity, power and focus. It carries
through what was on the palate all the way till the end, and even on the finish,
it is clean but the incredible aromas remain.

This is quite honestly a staggering expression of a Japanese single malt - and
quite possibly the best I’ve had of the category and definitely ranks amongst
the best I’ve had in the broader whisky category. This is definitely one I will
remember for life. I could not for the life of me remotely think of one flaw
here.

I don’t know if this will ever be repeated. But I will put all my money on
Shizuoka being the best Japanese distillery today if it could consistently
produce whiskies like this.

PS. Perhaps fittingly this caps off what would be my last dram at Singapore's
Samsu Huaykuan bar, a place that I've found great respite in the bustle of the
city, always helmed by the incredibly friendly and warm barkeep J. It's been a
real joy to visit the past 2 years, and I've always looked forward to enjoying a
drink or five there. Thank you for bravely putting on masterclasses and tasting
events (no easy feat in a country with a very small whisky community) to
encourage folks in the community to stretch their palates and find new flavours
- it was a really cool endeavour that I wish would've stayed longer.

If you're in Singapore, Samsu Huaykuan closes its doors 27th June 2024 - do head
over and have one last dram! And to J, I wish you the very best on your future
adventures!

Kanpai!

@111hotpot

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