Akashi Meisei Blended

What it is

A blended whisky from Eigashima in Hyogo, sold under the Akashi name at 40%. Meisei sits in the same everyday tier as Akashi Red, aimed at mixing rather than sipping.

Where it comes from

Eigashima received one of the first whisky licences issued in Japan, in 1919, four years before Yamazaki was built, but only released a single malt in 2007. Its blends are a different proposition to its malts. The company doesn't publish component breakdowns, and its blended whiskies have historically included stock it didn't distil.

The range also carries a known oddity: the basic White Oak bottling for the Japanese market has used malt whisky with molasses spirit, which wouldn't be classed as whisky in the EU, while the export version uses malt and grain. We haven't found a producer statement putting Meisei against the Japan Spirits and Liqueurs Makers Association standard, so the honest answer is that the composition isn't disclosed.

How it's made

Eigashima is a small operation on the Seto Inland Sea coast, making whisky for only a short period each year while sake and shochu occupy the rest of the calendar. Its own malt is lightly peated, and that faint smoke often shows through even in the blends. Cask specifics for this bottling aren't published.

What to expect

Soft and light, with cereal sweetness, vanilla and a faint smokiness, finishing short. It's built for highballs and it works there.

How it compares

Against Akashi Red, essentially the same tier. Against Akashi Blue Label, that has genuine cask work behind it with shochu casks and sherry and bourbon finishing. Against Akashi Tokinoka, another blend with more going on. If you want to know what Eigashima can actually do, the single malts at 46% and 50% are the answer and these blends are not.