This is my final Yoichi sample, a 20 Year Old from 1991. It matured in warehouse 15 (many a good cask came from there), in a new oak cask.The prickly nose contains peat and silt, but it is the sweetness…

Yoichi on Hokkaido is Japan’s second oldest distillery (after Yamazaki) and the brainchild of Masetaka Taketsuru. It has been producinig since 1936. It is part of the Nikka concern to which Myagikyo also…

I found yet another peaty Japanese dram in my cabinet, this 17 Year Old from the Yoichi stables. This is a lot darker though, which reveals a sherry cask.Wonderful nose! Perfect mix of raisins and alm…

I thought I was in for a line up of fruity Yoichi, but was surprised at how peaty the Yoichi 1999 was. So best to put another peaty whisky next to that, right? Luckily my sample cabinet still has this…

The Hanyu distillery is no more. The firm goes back to the 17th Century, but only since 1980 do they distill whisky (before they made sake, of course) after installing two pot stills. The distillery was…

The Solist Fino, as the name indicates, is finished in a Fino sherry butt. I am told there are many batch variations, so I am curious how mine will do. It is a sample I brought home for a whisky festival…

The final Kavalan that I will try is the Solist Vinho Barrique. It matured 4 years on American oak that was air dried for two years, before white and red wine was matured in it. The casks were then…

This Kavalan Single Malt saw the light of day in 2008 and is the distillery’s best seller. It is composed from first fill bourbon and sherry casks, but also several refill casks and even a wine cask. It…

Kavalan has bottled quite a few single sherry casks, all at natural color (and mine is quite dark). This cask yielded 546 bottles at a whopping 57,8%. I will keep my water close at hand.OMG! Deep sherry…

The King Car Kavalan distillery in Taiwan is still very young, founded in 1979. They got the help of expert Dr Jim Swan, which I have met at the festival in Ghent as a soft spoken, rather introvert man…