Our relentless search for the most flavourful oak in the world took us from our own wooded mountains in Wicklow to those in the volcanic north of Japan - Hokkaido - where we found it. Mizunara.
Our relentless search for the most flavorful oak in the world took us from our own wooded mountains in Wicklow to those in the volcanic north of Japan - Hokkaido - where we found it. Mizunara.
As the first Irish whiskey brand to use the rare and exotic Mizunara, we had very much ventured into the unkown. Bringing Irish single malt and Japanese oak together went far off the beaten path, literally, but it has led to this wonderfully different whiskey.
On our bottle you'll see a little red thread - the Japanese call it the red thread of fate. This particular one represents a connection between our wooded mountain home in Wicklow, and the one we discovered in Japan. And the fateful union of the world's best malt (Irish!) and the world's most flavourful oak.
On our bottle you'll see a little red thread - the Japanese call it the red thread of fate. This particular one represents a connection between our wooded mountain home in Wicklow, and the one we discovered in Japan. And the fateful union of the world's best malt (Irish!) and the world's most flavorful oak.
Tasting Notes
Nose
Vibrant, fruity and floral on the nose.
TASTE
Fresh and citrussy with orchard fruits. A luxuriously smooth mouthfeel. Biscuity malt throughout. Vanilla, fudge and honey from the bourbon cask. The mizunara brings dark chocolate orange, sandalwood and cinnamon.
FINISH
An exceptionally long finish of toasted oak and oriental spices, with the dark chocolate lingering even longer.
Mizunara
Mizunara is rare and expensive. It rarely grows straight, in fact it takes 200 years to grow old enough at all. Meaning “water oak” it takes 3 years to dry, before being notoriously hard to cooper. And after all that, the wood is so porous, it leaks worse than any other oak. But therein lies it's saving grace. More whiskey gets deeper into the wood bringing more of its wonderfully exotic flavour out. However, it is a whiskey better tasted than talked about.
Mizunara is rare and expensive. It rarely grows straight, in fact it takes 200 years to grow old enough at all. Meaning “water oak” it takes 3 years to dry, before being notoriously hard to cooper. And after all that, the wood is so porous, it leaks worse than any other oak. But therein lies it's saving grace. More whiskey gets deeper into the wood bringing more of its wonderfully exotic flavor out. However, it is a whiskey better tasted than talked about.
