Kaiyō Japanese Mizunara Oak Cask Strength

The Kaiyo Japanese Mizunara Oak was a bottle I reviewed a few months back and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It had tropical fruits and cinnamon sweetness in spades and was well presented at 46% ABV. I picked it up for just under $55 and even though it’s NAS- it was really, really good. Well, this is it’s hot-headed brother- same whisky, just bottled at near cask strength of 53% ABV. It’s not that much hotter, but it did add $30 to the price point. This whisky is non-chill filtered, but does have added coloring that makes it appear as new gold with copper highlights. It’s rather oily, with huge droplets and fast forming legs in your tasting glass. The nose begins with freshly crushed, cinnamon sticks and less citrusy, tropical fruits: think papaya and mango, instead of oranges and lemon. There’s some faint pineapple in there, too. There’s a nutty quality at play and a heavy sense of the ABV heat. The palate delivers on the tropical flavors, again before the harsher notes of youthful spirit barge in and take over. Red Hots candies supply the cinnamon and crazy good, sugary sweetness at the midpoint. The healthy dose of lingering heat is supplied by the extra ABV and it ultimately leads to a drier than anticipated mouthfeel. The finish is lingering heat and cinnamon candy with oak barrel astringency. It finishes very dry. Overall, I love the balance between tropical and cinnamon notes, but I think the regular version does a better job at presenting this in the perfect light. The Mizunara casks add a depth of flavor, but either the whisky is just too young to allow those flavors to shine or it’s just a little too strong. This was still a very enjoyable bottle, worthy of 3.5+ stars, but the dilution to 46% puts it closer to a beautiful, NAS offering. Not to mention you can save yourself $25-30. As this is presented, I’d give it 3.75 stars. Cheers.

Rating: 12/23 - Nose - There's a pretty big alcohol burn here. Unfortunately, it isn't that complex of a nose. I do get some worty grain and malty sour cherry though. Actually, those are more substantial than I'd expected. They seem to grow with time. - Palate - Less bite from the alcohol than I'd feared! It's sweet with the same grain and cherry-malt from the nose. It's not super full though. There's a clean and smooth aspect to the alcohol, as if in order to smooth it out, they removed a lot of the good flavors and complexity as well. It's bitter from the alcohol, but it doesn't burn. There's a definite vodka flavor to this whiskey, which I'm not sure is something I've ever said before. Hints of lemon peel and pepper. Nice grain vodka flavor. Unfortunately, the more I drink, the more this tastes like vodka instead of whiskey. - Finish - The malty grain and cherry carry through, though they aren't strong. They gradually fade out. Long on the finish, the alcohol burn comes back and just sits there. - Conclusion - This is a pretty lackluster whiskey. It seems to prioritize smoothness over all else. It doesn't really deliver anything worthwhile. I actually think of Seagram's a bit when drinking this because it has that vibe of a spirit masquerading as whiskey. For a rating, I can't go too low. This isn't bad. But it sure isn't good. I think there's just enough syrupy sweetness to this to save it from ending up in the 20 range. It's more like an 11 to 14. I think a 12 seems appropriate.

I feel as if this one is the Arya Stark of the whiskey world. You don’t expect much from it...but delivers in spades. Well, let’s see...I can easily picture Macallan as the Night King. Walking tall, like he’s god gift to mankind. Strutting around like he’s all that and a bag of chips. Sansa is like Glenfiddich. We’ve all heard of her. She’s amazing to look at in those posters hanging around the NYC Subway. She’s plastered everywhere in magazines. But, when it comes time to test what you’re made of, she’s probably in the cellar hiding out, waiting till the coast clears. Highland Park...that’s gotta be Euron Greyjoy. Arrogant. Putting on a show like he’s some Norse-god Thor like conquering Viking. But, let’s face it...he just wants to be with a demented murderous sexy sherry cask named Cersei. So...back to this Arya. This one is an underrated and understated Japanese malt, lost between the hype of Yamazaki and Hibiki. It’s potent, but beautiful in every sense of the word. Floral nose, but not too much...just enough oak in there to let you know there’s a bit of oomph. Taste of sandalwood (ther’es the mizunara ), dark cherries. Finish is hot. Lingers for a while. If only that finish were a bit smoother. Probably needs a few more years in the barrel. Nonetheless, a really good true Japanese malt (not like those made in UK, US, and CA, only to be aged in Japan). Thanks to my buddy @LeeEvolved for a generous pour.

After 300+ reviews, it isn’t every day I get to check a new box. And while I’ve already tackled 2 other Kaiyo expressions, this has the unique honor of being my first cask strength Japanese whiskey. The other two were solid. Let’s see what their uncut juice has to offer. Nose: Creamy custard and sandalwood. Vanilla and honey. Nectarine. Cucumber and agave. Pumpkin spice. Walnut. Banana bread. Ginger snap. One of the better noses I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Palate: Caramel and vanilla. Gala apple. Ginger snap. Agave. Honey. Sandalwood. Custard. Orange citrus. Butterscotch. Honeydew. Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and an oak note. Finish: Sandalwood, agave, and Gala apple. Dried apricot and brown sugar. Ginger snap. Orange/orange peel. Clove, nutmeg, black pepper, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, and oak. Long finish. I’ve always liked Kaiyo. They’ve done a great job of selecting their whiskies. But this blows everything they’ve ever attempted out of the water. In fact, I will confidently say this the best Japanese whiskey I’ve ever had. At $90, this is a fantastic value. Kaiyo is easily the most accessible Japanese whiskey brand. That statement accounts for availability and affordability. Couple that with unparalleled quality and a stalwart 53% ABV and you’ve got yourself a top shelf whiskey.

Decided on a pour tasting of this Oriental treat to keep my horizons expanding. (10 dollar pour) Nose: arrives with sweet florals and a small bit of pungent citrus, extremely promising. Front: the pungent citrus becomes a smooth flow of fruits and sweet corn whiskey notes are more subdued, evening out over the finish. Incredibly smooth for a cask weight dram. THIS CAN'T BE pure malt, I won't believe it, it's too incredibly rich and balanced in its sugar notes to be "just barley". If so then chalk another one up for the far East masters, the blending is substantial and very well done. Kaiyo is bringing the absolute precision craftsmanship of Japanese whiskey with their Mizunara Oak CS and if that's something you both like and respect as I do, you won't be disappointed, I'm now going to be looking for this bottle as I hear it can be found without breaking the bank. Domo arigato, cheers!

This one has been very well reviewed by the gang. Sandlewood, cinnamon, and other flavor notes I agree with. I think you can however often tell the measure of a cask strength whiskies maturity and complexity or lack thereoff by the way it handles water. I think this was better cask strength personally even if it was a bit hot and slightly out of balance at that abv. A bit of water and time bought out slightly bitter characteristics and diluted the flavor and a bit more overpowered it and turned it into watery ethanol. Interesting to experience Japanese wood influence though. I'd like to try the 46% offering to see if the offical watering down is more successful than my haphazard method.