Kaiyō Japanese Mizunara Oak

Review #029 Type: blended Japanese whisky Proof: 43% Comments: NAS, mizunara oak maturation, ocean-finished on a vessel at sea for up to three months Tasted after: Suntory Toki Appearance (no score): Deep gold color. Was Unable to look for legs due to an apparent water-repellent coating on the glass I was tasting with. Nose: 16/20 Vanilla, pears, and orange zest dominate. It’s also lightly floral with a hint of honey. Palate: 33/40 The mouth-feel is thin, and more floral and earthy than other whiskies I’ve tried, but not in a bad way at all. It works well with the other flavors of vanilla, angel food cake, and banana. Finish: 32/40 Medium finish with a mild ethanol burn. I get coconut, cereal, and clove spices, with the surprising ending semi-sweet flavor of bubblegum being the last to linger in my mouth. With Water: A drop of water adds some saltiness to the palate, much of the floral sensation is gone, and now I’m maybe tasting a hint of grilled pork chops on the finish? Total: 81/100 Final thoughts: This walks the line of being delicate, balanced, and easy drinking, and also complex and flavorful enough to keep my attention. Definitely unique to others I’ve previously tried. Price: $57 Would recommend: yes Would buy: yes Scoring Legend: 96-100: The perfect dram, absolutely exceptional, nectar of the gods, I will savor this bottle and make it last, 5 stars. 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky, 4.75 stars. 85-89: Very good to amazing, almost the complete product, 4.5 stars. 80-84: Quite good, very enjoyable to drink, but doesn’t wow me, 4.25 stars. 75-79: Good, enjoyable but ultimately flawed, unlikely to purchase again, 4 stars. 70-74: A solid dram, but wouldn't go out of my way to get it, 3.75 stars. 55-69: Drinkable, 3.5-2.75 stars. Below 55: Suitable for cooking or direct contribution to the kitchen sink drain, 2.5 stars or less.

Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived in harmony; then, everything changed when the Fire Na...wait, wait, wrong intro. If there is only one thing I've gotten out of the last year and a half's collective misery, it was finally watching Avatar: The Last Airbender, and then watching it become my oldest daughter and my's favorite show to watch together. The titular Avatar's principle task is to achieve balance in the world between its four nations, defined by which element they are able to manipulate, and the Avatar alone is able to master all four elements. If balance and harmony are the goals here, this whiskey nails it. Everything is in its right place; granted, this is a general goal of Japanese whisky as a rule, but Kaiyo manages to tick off all the boxes without any element overpowering another. Sandalwood and spice from the mizunara oak, sweet and creamy vanilla, an earthy smoke, lemon peel, light fruitiness, a lingering finish of cereal grains - somehow, all of these elements harmonize with each other, each noticeable but nothing overpowering the other. If I have a complaint, it's only that the finish is a little short and I wouldn't mind a richer mouthfeel...guess I'll just have to get the cask strength next time I see it. I also love the pricing on it, too - Japanese whisky is slowly coming back down out of the stratosphere as production at both the historic distilleries and the newcomers has started keeping up with demand, but even prior to that, this was a great value at around $50/bottle by me. Compared to $100+ for bottles of NAS replacements for unavailable aged stocks of big name brands like Yoichi and Miyagikyo, this is a steal. Try it if you can find it - it'll quench ya! Nothing's quenchier! It's the quenchiest!

Kaiyō Mizunara Oak shines a fossilized amber color with a nice clarity in the glass. The nose is distinct but gentle. Floral, hints of worn leather, and incense. Impressions of a cool breeze through a fruit grove. Sweeter notes of orange roll. The palate takes that aromatic impression further; the first things I taste are peaches and tangerines. Toasted coconut, sea salt, and more tannic notes of oak and acorn follow. That incense note from the nose is a lovely undercurrent, but it is delicate and not overt. The finish surprises — it is chaotic, marvelous, and breathtaking. It is a finish that kicks but diminishes with a very slow burn. It’s the only thing about Kaiyō that I could consider harsh. With a few drops of cool water, the grove fruit pops more and makes the mouth water with its juiciness. Less tannic and much smoother, the mellower oak notes come out in place of the astringency. With water the finish is a bit calmer, like the ocean on a still and sunny day. Still, the slow burn keeps going, wave by wave, finally breaking with a sultry and floral aftertaste. Kaiyō brings me into the new territory of mizunara aged whisky. I’ve really enjoyed this bottle. At the same time, its chaotic finish seems to occur before it’s welcome. That harshness sets in too soon. I don’t know if that’s the whisky or the mizunara aging or some combination of both.

Nose: Wood, but piney wood. Vanilla essence, varnish, pencil shavings. Lightly floral, orange peel from MoM is there. Could be the tiniest bit of salt. Palate: Not as sweet as expected. Interesting green tea thing going on, feels very slightly tannic somehow. Really not getting as much sweetness as others but more sharp herbal notes, like eating a pine needle. Any fruitiness is like soft lime, and get a bit of vanilla. Actually reminds me of the lime/dill/gin combination of gimlets at Dishoom. Finish: Didn’t find it to be incredibly long, but kind of agree with the mango note from MoM somehow. Herbal tannic thing as well. Overall: will probably remember this for the piney tannic vegetal notes more than anything else. A bit thin for me but interesting which is a big plus.

An intense Japanese Mizunara Oak Whisky created by Master Blender Jeff Karlovitch, the Whisky veteran of Bunnahabhain, in Japan that’s double-distilled & double-matured at sea for several years before being bottled at 86 Proof. It has an aromatic birth with notes of honey, wood, hints of fresh grass, apple & vanilla; while a complex life adds notes of spices, fruits, smoke, berries & citrus; that leads to a bold & oily death of medium length. June 2020 / April 2021 / August 2022

Very light in color, almost like white wine. Could probably use more aging. A kind of unique dram from start to finish. The nose is kind of an odd combination of buttery and herbal. The taste doesn’t quite match the smell: kind of a savory start and short salt/spice finish that isn’t quite the same as peat. Despite my odd description, I actually quite enjoy it. Different than anything else I’ve had