Shizuoka Pot Still W Japanese barley first edition Vol.55,5% Cl.70

This extraordinary whiskey from the brilliant Shizuoka distillery was created from pure Japanese barley, standing out from the crowd.

Not many distilleries in Japan have managed to achieve this yet, and Shizuoka's innovation and passion have paid off with a single malt that is rich in flavour, smooth and more enjoyable.

Expect lots of fruit and spice, as well as melted dark chocolate, sliced ​​apples and rich oak.

The Shizuoka Pot Still W is distilled in the still powered directly by wood and produced with 100% organic barley grown in Japan.

70% of this is peated barley, which ultimately resulted in a fairly light whisky.

The 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 during a distillery trip in 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 very traditional distillery on the one hand and very modern on the other.

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

For connoisseurs of Japanese whiskeys, the name Karuizawa has almost a mythical meaning.

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

Previously, he had purchased these stills at an auction.

Unfortunately, though, the karuizawa stills were terrible to use, except for one.

Shizuoka Distillery now has 2 stills made by Forsyth's in Scotland and 1 still that previously served Karuizawa long ago.

The "old" Karuizawa still in production is back in production.

But the 2 "Scottish" stills are also nothing short of special. Especially the "Wash Still" can be described as such.

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

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, white fruit jam and toast on the nose. Then delicate hints of peat come into play with exotic herbs and smoked gingerbread.

Taste: fresh biscuits with caramel, chocolate and toasted hazelnuts. All this is refined with peat smoke.

On the finish, malty sweetness with a hint of peat smoke that lingers for a long time.