Prices
Prices and stock come from each retailer's website. Check with the store before you buy.
More from this distillery: All Matsui whiskies and prices
About
What it is
A single malt distilled at the Kurayoshi Distillery in Tottori, owned by Matsui Shuzo, with mizunara oak doing the cask work. Bottled at 48%, non-chill filtered and no colour added.
Where it comes from
Matsui Shuzo has a complicated reputation. The company is a sake and shochu producer dating to 1910, and for years it sold age-stated whisky under the Kurayoshi name that was sourced from Scotland, blended in Japan and bottled with Japanese branding. It only installed pot stills and began distilling in 2017. Since then it has split its labelling: the Tottori range covers sourced and blended whisky, and the single malts distilled in house carry the Matsui or Kurayoshi distillery name.
This bottling is from its own distillate. That said, we haven't found a producer statement putting it against the Japan Spirits and Liqueurs Makers Association standard, and given the company's history we'd want one before calling it compliant.
How it's made
Sources disagree on the cask work, which is worth flagging. Some describe full maturation in mizunara casks. The US importer describes maturation in ex-bourbon barrels then transfer into bourbon barrels fitted with mizunara heads for the final months, which is a different thing. Water comes from Mount Daisen. Expect variation between batches.
What to expect
Honey, acacia and toffee with the oriental spice character mizunara is known for, plus cinnamon, ginger and a touch of chilli heat. It's young, and at 48% it doesn't hide that.
How it compares
Against The Kurayoshi pure malts, which are built on sourced Scottish malt, this is the one made in Tottori. Against The Matsui Sakura Cask, the same spirit gets cherry wood instead of Japanese oak. Against other mizunara-finished Japanese whiskies, this is on the more affordable end, which is a large part of the appeal.
