Shizuoka Pot Still W Vol.55,5% Cl.70

The Shizuoka Pot Still W is distilled in the wood-fired still and produced with 100% imported barley. 70% of this is peated barley which ultimately resulted in a fairly light whiskey.

Shizuoka Distillery is located in the forested hills west of Shizuoka City. And that city is about 1.5 hours by Shinkansen bullet train, south of central Tokyo.

Taiko Nakamura was inspired on a distillery trip to Scotland and decided to build his own distillery near his hometown of Shizuoka.

His wife Mika imports Scotch whiskey with her company Gaia-flow.

So they were already in business with the drink. As an engineer, Taiko had his own installation company and used this knowledge to build a distillery that was very traditional on the one hand and very modern on the other.

As you walk through this beautifully located distillery, you will notice the beautiful wooden sinks, as well as the state-of-the-art check valves and level indicators.

For Japanese whiskey connoisseurs, the name Karuizawa has an almost mythical meaning.

The stills of this disappeared distillery were part of Taiko Nakamura's plans when he designed the Shizuoka distillery.

Previously, he had bought these stills at an auction.

Unfortunately, however, the karuizawa stills were awful to use, except for one.

Shizuoka Distillery now has 2 stills produced by Forsyth's in Scotland and 1 still which previously served Karuizawa a long time ago.

The "old" Karuizawa still in production is back in production. But even the 2 "Scottish" stills are nothing short of special. Especially the "Wash Still" can be described as such.

This is in fact heated directly with wood fire in the boiler under the alembic.

Throughout the day, an employee stokes the fire by adding logs to the fire.

Something that no longer happens, but which gives the whiskey a special character.

Tasting note:

Color: light amber.

Aromas: Honey with cream and toasted bread on the nose. Then the delicate hints of peat come into play with exotic herbs and smoked gingerbread.

Taste: fresh biscuits with caramel and toasted nuts. All this is refined with peat smoke.

In the finish, malty sweetness with a hint of peat smoke that lingers long.