White Oak Akashi Single Malt Japanese Whisky (500ml / 46%)
500ml / 46% / Non Chill FilteredThe White Oak whisky distillery is located in the city of Akashi in HyĆgo Prefecture, west of KĆbe, facing the Seto Inland Sea. The ownerâs...
500ml / 46% / Non Chill Filtered
The White Oak whisky distillery is located in the city of Akashi in HyĆgo Prefecture, west of KĆbe, facing the Seto Inland Sea. The ownerâs family arrived in the area during the Edo period in 1679. Five generations later the business expanded by adding a Sake brewery and a Shochu distillery to its operations and a licence was granted to Eigashima Shuzo in 1888.
Whisky became very popular during WWI and with some minor changes to the barley-based Shochu production process, whisky production would be possible. In 1919 the first whisky was produced which predates both Suntory and Nikka and makes Eigashima Shuzo the oldest official Japanese whisky maker.
In 1984 Eigashima replaced the production facility with a new building and production line, including new pot stills, mash tuns and washbacks â White Oak Distillery was born. The whisky stills are only in operation for one month every year and so their production quantity each year is minuscule.
Most of White Oakâs production is in the form of blended whiskies due to their limited output. Some barrels are aged for long enough for single malt bottling, and when these single malts do come on the market the whisky is named âAkashiâ. The first Akashi release was in 2007.
These sensational whiskies are released in extremely limited quantities.
This 'No Age Statement' bottling is a new product for White Oak, released in September 2012. It's a blend of 7 YO, 5 YO & 4 YO malts from 3 types of cask.Â
Non chill filtered and limited to just 4,500 bottles worldwide.
Tasting Notes
This whisky was matured for five years; two in Spanish sherry butts and three in hogsheads, before being bottled un-chillfiltered and with no artificial colouring.
The resulting release is a powerful single malt combining vanilla and American oak notes that is rounded and subtle with impressive length and complexity. Very limited and highly collectable.
Cherries, cracked pepper, Christmas cake, marmalade, creamed corn, black currents, balsamic, some burnt twigs.