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 27 year old blended whisky from Matsui Shuzo in Tottori, bottled at 50%. The Tottori is the label Matsui uses for its blended, sourced whiskies, as distinct from the single malts it now distils itself.
Where it comes from
Straightforwardly, this is not Matsui's distillate. The company installed pot stills and began making whisky in 2017, so nothing carrying a 27 year age statement under its name can have been made there. Matsui sources malt and grain whisky from distilleries in Scotland, ships it to Japan, blends it with Japanese-distilled whisky where applicable, matures it in Tottori and proofs it with local water.
That means it cannot meet the Japan Spirits and Liqueurs Makers Association standard, which requires distillation in Japan. Matsui's earlier practice of selling sourced whisky under age-stated Japanese branding drew heavy criticism, and the company has since split its labelling so that The Tottori covers the sourced blends and the single malts carry the distillery name. Worth knowing before you spend what a 27 year old costs.
How it's made
Blended and matured in Tottori prefecture, then brought to strength with soft ground water from the Mount Daisen area. Matsui bottles its range non-chill filtered with no caramel colouring. Cask detail for this specific age statement isn't published.
What to expect
Given the age and the strength, expect depth: dried fruit, oak spice and a long finish. Twenty seven year old Scotch malt and grain is good whisky regardless of whose name is on the bottle, and at 50% there's plenty of it.
How it compares
Against a 27 year old blended Scotch, that's effectively what you're comparing it to, with Japanese maturation and blending on top. Against The Matsui single malts, those are made in Tottori and this isn't. Against The Kurayoshi pure malts, same sourcing story, different label.
