Akkeshi Shosho Blended

What it is

The fourth release in Akkeshi's Twenty Four Solar Terms series, out on 25 August 2021 at 48%. Shosho marks the tail of summer in the Japanese calendar. The series alternates between single malt and blended releases roughly every three months, and this is one of the blends.

Where it comes from

Akkeshi's blends and its single malts have different provenance stories, and this is a blend. The series blends combine imported new pot grain whisky, aged at Akkeshi for at least three years in ex-bourbon barrels, with the distillery's own peated single malt. Since the grain isn't distilled in Japan, these can't meet the Japan Spirits and Liqueurs Makers Association standard, and they're often described as world blends.

Akkeshi's importers state this openly. What gets lost is the distinction between the blends and the single malts in the same numbered series, which look almost identical on a shelf.

How it's made

Akkeshi sits on the far eastern coast of Hokkaido, further east than any other Japanese distillery, and has been distilling since 2016. Forsyths pot stills, peated malt, and one of the few Japanese sites with local peat, cut from the marshland around it. The Homakai River that supplies the water runs through that peat layer. Maturation across mizunara, sherry, bourbon and wine casks, with Hokkaido mizunara the house signature.

What to expect

Lighter and more approachable than the single malts, which is what the grain does. Citrus and orchard fruit up front, then peat smoke, a salty maritime edge and the incense note from Japanese oak, finishing with pepper.

How it compares

Against Akkeshi's single malts, those carry no imported component and run at 55% rather than 48%. Against the other blends, Usui, Daikan and Taisho, the structure is the same and the cask emphasis shifts. The whole series is collected as a set, which is part of why prices behave the way they do.