Some Japanese malts, completely at random and all over the place


May 27, 2026

Some Japanese malts, completely at random and all over the place

That is to say, the ones we wanted to taste without delay, that’s reason enough, isn’t it?

(AI slop).

Yamazaki 18 yo ‘Mizunara 2025 Release’ (48%, OB)

We had adored the 2024 version (WF 91), which was one of, if not the finest proper mizunara expression we’ve ever tasted. Let’s not even mention those gimmicky ‘mizunara’ finishings that keep sprouting up all over the world. Colour: gold. Nose: we’ll be quick here, this rather feels like a blend of 80% malt whisky, 10% mezcal and 10% Jamaican rum. I swear. I truly do. Honestly. Mouth: superb, slightly peppery, with those notes of fir buds, cedarwood, but also candied citron, fresh turmeric, mandarin, orange blossom, quince paste… Finish: much the same, with both a freshness and a depth that are seldom encountered together. Lovely woodiness in the aftertaste, tea, tobacco… Comments: still hugely impressive, I only regret not having had the opportunity to compare this 2025 edition with the 2024 release ‘in flesh’.
SGP:561 - 91 points.

Mars Tsunuki 2021/2025 (58%, OB for AF Trade & Tiffany’s New York Bar, PX sherry hogshead, cask #T2378, 259 bottles)

Colour: red amber. Nose: touches of brand-new rubber boots at first, then blood orange and sultanas, before pink pepper and grey pepper come marching in. Nicely chiselled and efficient yet not lacking complexity for a mere four-year-old. With water: fruitcake, speculoos and very fresh pumpernickel. This is peated whisky, though the peat remains fairly discreet on the nose. Mouth (neat): on the palate, it’s the pepper that takes charge straight away, accompanied by the peat and a combination of candied orange and raisins. With water: peppery, smoky marmalade, with a touch of turmeric. Finish: long, once again on raisins, pepper and peat. Comments: in my modest experience, peat and PX do not always work terribly well together, yet here everything fits together like clockwork. One of those famous exceptions that prove the rule, I suppose. Excellent.
SGP:656 - 88 points.

Chichibu Distillery II (55.5%, OB, bourbon, 2025)

‘The distillery where tradition meets the future’, so they say on the label. I rather feel we’ve already read that on quite a few bottles, brochures and assorted leaflets elsewhere, ha. In any case, when we tasted 13 Chichibus ‘I’ last month, we had added that we still needed to try the ‘II’, therefore the new distillery. And here we are, thanks to the Hong Kong Whisky Festival… Colour: white wine. Nose: graphite, paraffin, vanilla, ripe banana, white bread in proper baguette style. Just as expected, this is absolutely millimetric. With water: breads and seeds of every conceivable kind, perfect stuff. Mouth (neat): very much in the style of Chichibu I ex-bourbon, fresh, lemony, razor-sharp, with barley and green tea. Pure, clean lines throughout. With water: more texture, more lemon, while the vanilla remains nicely restrained. Finish: back come the banana notes, lime, a touch of green pepper, lemon zest in the aftertaste. Comments: they could have called it Chichitwo or Chichitoo instead of Chichibu II. Only joking, with WF’s official apologies of course. Still, we absolutely adore this ultra-precise style, well done indeed.
SGP:551 - 89 points.

Shindo ‘Experimental 02’ (48%, OB, 2026)

An assemblage made of 89% ex-bourbon, 6% ex-oloroso and 5% ex-brandy, a composition that rather strikes us as intelligently restrained. We had loved our first Shindo the last time we tasted Japanese whiskies, a few weeks ago. Colour: white wine. Nose: very much in the Chichibu vein, only slightly tighter, almost faintly acetic, or let’s say rather sauvignon blanc-like, before attractive candle waxes and even church candles (amen) emerge, alongside yet more white bread. Mouth: very slightly new-makey, this must be extremely young, with kirsch and pear eau-de-vie at first, before things become a little saltier and, once again, distinctly sauvignon-blanc-esque. Notes of white currant and gooseberry. Finish: medium length, once again with a slightly eau-de-vie-ish side, though it’s really very good. Apples and white grapes in the aftertaste. Comments: extremely good for what is obviously a very young and almost certainly reduced version. Now one would rather like to see what this might do at cask strength…
SGP:551 - 85 points.

Precisely…

Shindo 2022/2025 (62%, OB, for AF Trade, Dram Good Stuff & Courser of Woodland, Hong Kong, Mizunara, cask #10255)

We had tasted a sister cask matured in mizunara for Casky last month, and it had been extraordinary (WF 90). Colour: full gold. Nose: a sheer delight of fresh resinous woods, vanilla, gentle mint, grapefruit, bergamot… With water: fresh plaster, buttery croissants, grist and ale… Mouth (neat): perfect. Candied lemon, fir buds, honey, top-quality green tea, pink pepper. With water: even more perfect, thanks to that unstoppable duo of candied citrus fruits and fir buds. Finish: long, with more honeyed notes gradually increasing the softness. Thyme honey. Comments: only flaw, we rather expected it. The mizunara influence is absolutely perfect here, almost as much as in the superb Yamazaki from the start of this little Japanese session.
SGP:551 - 90 points.

Sakurao 2020/2026 (60%, OB, for Hong Kong and Macau, first fill Marsala, cask #7158, 253 bottles)

And so here we are in Hiroshima. Colour: amber. Nose: this is not a peated version, yet there are touches of tar and gunpowder at first, followed by cocoa and grilled raisins. Water is required. With water: leather, tobacco, bay leaves, brand-new rubber. Mouth (neat): much more to my liking on the palate, with masses of candied orange, Corinth raisins, a few touches of chilli… In truth, the raisins rather quickly take control. With water: back come the leather notes, alongside green walnuts. Finish: long, on walnuts with honeyed and lemony touches. Comments: much more heavily marked by the previous contents of the cask than the earlier Sakuraos. Nevertheless, it remains genuinely very, very good.
SGP:661 - 83 points.

Let’s try the bourbon…

Sakurao 2021/2025 (62%, OB, for Bar Buonasera HK, 1st fill bourbon barrel, cask #6147, 207 bottles)

In theory… Colour: white wine. Nose: candle wax, fresh barley, vanilla, slightly underripe banana… All is well. With water: apple juice and paraffin, fresh brioche, almond croissants. Mouth (neat): very pretty fruitiness, mirabelle eau-de-vie, Gravenstein apples, vanilla, quince… With water: fruitier apples, meadow honey, beeswax and pollen. And now a more pronounced citrusy tension, all the better for it! Finish: long, very clean, I’m not entirely sure why but this rather makes me think of young refill Linkwood. Barley and a little earthiness. Comments: this is excellent, and even more so at this age.
SGP:551 - 87 points.

One last one for now, but we’ll have many more very soon…

Miyagikyo 10 yo (45%, OB, for France, 2025)

The return of one of the great standard-bearers from the Nikka house, which we had not tasted since… 2011. The 10-year-old is back! Colour: full gold. Nose: this is more than perfect, centred on orange blossom honey enhanced by subtle smoke and tiny touches of ginger, discreet and elegant. Lemongrass, incense and cedarwood. Mouth: genuinely excellent, starting on lemony fir buds before moving towards more classic barley, though citrus fruits are really leading the dance throughout. I find this to be one of those Japanese malts that truly displays distinctly… Japanese notes. Finish: not endless, though full of orange marmalade and verbena, which can only make us happy. Cedarwood returns in the aftertaste. Comments: I find this absolutely excellent, and rather easy-going too, which certainly does no harm.
SGP:561 - 88 points.

Check the index of all Japanese whiskies we've tasted