In 1999, Guillermo Erickson Sauza decided to bring back the old Sauza family distillery to life. Today he produces Tequila Fortaleza there using 100% stone-milled agave, entirely produced on the estate which lies right in the middle of the town of Tequila. Fortaleza Blanco Tequila is unaged. It has an amazingly soft texture and vegetal sweetness with a long and satisfying finish.

A 9 year old blended whisky from Chugoku Jozo's interesting Togouchi range. The producers create their expressions with whisky from both Scotland and Canada, and age it in a railway tunnel in Japan.

Suntory are one of the giants of world whisky owning several of Japan’s nine active distilleries as well as Bowmore, Laphroig & Auchentoshan in Scotland and Kilbeggan and Cooley in Ireland. A truly global expression Suntory World Whisky AO is a whisky release which features whiskies from five different countries: Scotland, Ireland, the US, Canada, and Japan. The name “Ao” is translated to “blue” and refers to the color of the ocean. A vivid, elegant, yet deep profile, with a sweetness that gently pervades with a pleasantly sharp finish. A triumph of blending a selection of diverse, high quality whiskies into a seamless, thoughtful finished product.

Superb XO Cognac that displays fruit, nutmeg and spice on the nose and a palate with will take you from floral sweetness to savoury oak. Enjoy a small amount in a big glass and savour the aroma.

Matured in port puncheons, Limeburners Whisky is aged for up to 8 years. The resulting single malt is all spice and fruit with aromas of port and vanilla on the nose, barley, honey, raisins and caramel on the palate and finishes smooth.

After its usual aging process in American oak casks, this Talisker whisky undergoes a second maturation which makes The Distillers Edition unique with the flavour profile being older, sweeter and richer than the regular bottling's. On the palate, crisp peat then softens to great richness in the mouth. Sweet, roasty malt with heathery dryness and a luscious, slightly oily sweetness with juicy fruit and vanilla.

A vatting of single malts aged between 12 and 27 years in oak casks and resulting from a cognac (double) distillation method with a mash exclusively made of « Malt » (germinated barley). It has been reduced to 43% alcohol by volume. Beige amber tint.

Aged in bourbon, sherry and American White Oak new casks, "Cosmo" blended malt whisky is named after a mountain in the Japan Central Alps close to the Mars Whisky Distillery.

"One for no age statement naysayers... Eloquent & beautiful." - whiskyadvocate.com Back in 2015, Nikka announced they were discontinuing their age statement and No Age Statement (NAS) releases for the Yoichi and Miyagikyo labels and consolidating them into two new bottlings. These whiskies have now arrived in Australia. Two NAS versions that differ slightly to the previous versions now represent the entire portfolio. It was yet another move that triggered a buying rush. Reports have it that Tokyo is now pretty much out of age statement Japanese whiskies, unless you visit bars or auction houses. Nikka's reasons for the radical new strategy are now familiar. They simply have no old stocks to sell. Decades ago, both local and world demand for Japanese malts was low, so few barrels were being laid down for extended periods. Stefan Van Eycken, writing for www.nonjatta.com explains "...there were years, at both Yoichi and Miyagikyo distillery, when the barrels laid down for maturation could be counted on the fingers of one hand. The ‘stock shortage’ is not an excuse or a PR stunt – it’s very real. Sources within Nikka have said that it is ‘likely’ that age-statement single malts will be brought back in 5 or 6 years’ time. No official statement to that effect has been made for the simple reason that doing so – in Japan – would be interpreted as a promise (which could come back to haunt them in 6 years’ time)." The dropping of age statements doesn't always translate into a drop in quality. Early reviews for both releases have been very positive. Evidently, Chief blender Tadashi Sakuma has risen to the challenge of creating a great assemblage from a restricted inventory.

Kurayoshi are one of a few Japanese small-scale craft (or Ji) whiskies to be released in Australia. Created in the shadow of Mt Daisen, at the Matsui Distillery, the whiskies benefit from the mountain’s crystal clear waters and over a century of expertise. The blenders here often combine malt whisky from Scotland with locally produced whisky. This is not an uncommon practice in Japan, and the exact breakdown typically remains undisclosed. Tasting note: Polished copper. Not vastly different to the 8 year old, showing the same subtle Summer yellow fruits, only softer again and with delicious succulence, a bigger finish and better length. It's delicately oily with cocoa-dusted stewed fruits and buzzing spices through the finish. The balance is perfect here, and it feels older than it actually is. Pick of the bunch. 43% Alc./Vol. Non chill filtered.