Prices
Prices and stock come from each retailer's website. Check with the store before you buy.
More from this distillery: All Akkeshi whiskies and prices
About
What it is
The sixth release in Akkeshi's Twenty Four Solar Terms series, out on 25 February 2022 at 48%. Daikan means great cold and marks the deepest point of the Japanese winter, which suits a distillery on the eastern edge of Hokkaido.
Where it comes from
The blends in this series work differently to the single malts, and the difference matters. Daikan combines imported new pot grain whisky, which Akkeshi ages on site for a minimum of three years in ex-bourbon barrels, with a majority of its own single malt matured in mizunara, sherry and red wine casks.
Because the grain isn't distilled in Japan, it can't meet the Japan Spirits and Liqueurs Makers Association standard. Akkeshi's importers describe the composition openly, and the series is frequently sold as world blends. The single malt releases in the same series are a different story entirely, so don't carry an assumption from one to the other.
How it's made
Akkeshi started distilling in 2016 on an Islay template: Forsyths pot stills, peated malt, coastal maturation in a foggy, salt-air climate. It's one of very few Japanese distilleries with access to local peat, cut from the surrounding marshland. Daikan's cask mix is unusually varied, including Quercus serrata, a Japanese oak species distinct from mizunara, alongside sherry, bourbon and wine wood.
What to expect
Richer and rounder than the single malts, with the pot still grain adding body rather than lightness. Expect peat smoke, dried fruit and the incense character mizunara brings, with a warming finish built for cold weather.
How it compares
Against Akkeshi's single malts like Boshu, Ritto and Seimei, those are all Akkeshi distillate. Against the other blends in the series, Usui, Shosho and Taisho, same structure with different cask emphasis. The whole series is bought as much for collecting as for drinking.
