Okayama Triple Cask Single Malt

What it is

A single malt from Miyashita Shuzo in Okayama, matured across three cask types: Pedro Ximenez sherry, brandy and Japanese mizunara oak. Bottled at 43%. It followed the distillery's first single malt release and has picked up international medals since.

Where it comes from

Miyashita has been brewing since 1915 and got its whisky licence in 2011, at a point when Japanese whisky was still considered a declining category. The whisky is distilled, matured and bottled in Okayama. We haven't found a producer statement putting this specific bottling against the Japan Spirits and Liqueurs Makers Association standard, and some bottlings predate its introduction in 2021, so check the label rather than assuming.

How it's made

The unusual part is the equipment. Miyashita distils in stainless steel stills that are also used for shochu production, which is not how anyone in Scotland does it, and applies sake brewing practice to the whisky, including a long, cool fermentation to preserve malt character. Water is drawn from the Asahikawa spring 100 metres down. Sources disagree on the barley: some say locally grown Nijo two-row from Okayama, others say German and English malt. Barley origin doesn't affect compliance either way, but it's worth knowing the claims conflict.

What to expect

Rich and oaky, with dried fruit, walnut and toffee from the sherry and brandy casks, a pinch of pepper, then vanilla, cocoa and caramel on a nutty finish. The mizunara sits underneath rather than dominating.

How it compares

Against the plain Okayama Single Malt, this is the version built for complexity through wood rather than through age. Against the bigger Japanese single malts it's young, and priced accordingly. Against other sake brewery whisky projects like Kanosuke or Kaikyo, Miyashita's shared shochu stills give it a genuinely different production story.