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deals in Australia

EIKO means SAMURAI GLORY in Japanese.Made in Hokkaido at Asahikawa Distillery using 100% corn.

"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.

Kanade Yuzu is created through the blending of Yuzu juice with three different types of liquor, each made by infusing and distilling Japanese Yuzu citrus pulp and peel, This liqueur embodies the characteristics of fresh Yuzu, with a refreshing citrus aroma and pleasantly bitter yet sour taste. Lush and rich mouth feel with sour citrus notes delicately complimenting the sweet Yuzu characteristics.

Kanade White Peach is composed of infused Japanese White Peach liqueur and White Peach juice. The final blend has a distinct aroma both rich and gentle, and an enveloping juicy flavor like that of a raw White Peach. With a palate of citrus & the strong presence of raw white peach leading into a delicate floral finish, Kanade White Peach Liqueur would make a next level Bellini. This is really quite wonderful.

Okayama Craft Gin Sakura Cask Finish is distilled using rice shochu as a base plus a blend of more than a dozen classic botanical including coriander, lemon peel, juniper, lavender, and orange. Unique to this gin is the Okayama region famous Momo white peach. Finished in a barrel made from Sakura (Japanese Cherry Blossom) imparting a sweet wild berry note. The resulting gin has aromas of citrus, lavender, peach, and wild cherry across the nose. The palate comes together with a blend of juniper, Mikan/Hetsuka orange and yuzu lemon, kumquat, Saigon cinnamon. he cask influence adds brioche, cherry candy and marzipan.

Aged for 12 years in sherry barrels, the Okayama 12 Year Old Barely Sherry Cask Shochu has a taste of equal parts elegant and mellow. The aging process combines the best elements from sake and scotch, creating a drop excellent for both savouring and sipping. The nose has exquisite aromas of brioche, sherry, oak, and barley. Notes of summer citrus float across the palate giving way to the soft sweetness of caramel and vanilla. A long, textured, and creamy finish.

Komasa Gin is the craft gin label proudly presented by Komasa Jyozo, a shochu distillery in Kagoshima, Japan with over 130 years of distilling history. Gin and shochu both share the fact that they are distilled spirits. Drawing on decades of distilling expertise and know-how accumulated through making shochu, the distillery unveiled a new line of gins in 2018. Komasa Jyozo uses their rice shochu as the base for Komasa Gin, to which they add juniper berries and as few other ingredients as possible in order to let the main botanicals shine on their own. Komasa Jyozo’s goal is to utilize and express the natural fragrances and flavours of their quality ingredients to the fullest. With Komasa Gin, they hope they have hit upon a revolutionary style of gin that is eminently easy to drink and perfect for everyone. The sweet and refreshing aroma of strawberries with a deep and lingering finish of herbs. These seemingly contradictory personalities coexist without canceling each other out, and each sip will make you want to keep tasting this unique marriage. With the juiciness of strawberries shining through the intricately overlapping flavours, this is a gin that evokes the rich climate of tropical Kagoshima.

The Kurayoshi Pure Malt Whisky Sherry Cask is a boutique Japanese whisky produced by the Matsui distillery..This is a 100% malted barley whisky, sourced from distilleries around Scotland, before making their way to Japan, where it is blended with Japanese Whisky, aged and cut to proof with the legendary volcanic stone filtered waters of Tottori Prefecture. This means that the profile is brighter that you would expect in this age-range. This brings out more herbal and citrus notes while maintaining a nice complexity. The real surprise is how well it pairs with food. Think of it like a “white Wine of Whisky” and enjoy.

Founded on the shores of Lake Biwa in Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture in 2016, Nagahama Distillery is the smallest distillery in Japan. They produce single malt whiskys and also blends carefully selected whisky purchased from overseas and ages it in Nagahama’s climate. Amahagan World Malt Edition No. 1 Japanese Blended Malt Whisky is the first of its kind from the Nagahama Distillery. Filled at the end of 2018 with 47% only selected malt whiskies from the own distillery and a selection of malt whiskies from overseas. This whisky has aromas of chocolate, orange, nuts from oak, and vanilla across the nose. Rich fruit flavours on the palate like apples and oranges. A crisp malt sweetness from the Nagahama Newmake. A medium, fruit finish.

Ichiro Akuto's most voluminous and accessible Whisky is, as it says on the label, a blend of Malt and Grain Whiskies. While the exact source of the material is not published, it's known it's a blend of Japanese distilled material vatted with Whiskies sourced from around the world. In addition to whisky from his own stocks--including, potentially, Hanyu and Karuizawa, as well as his own Chichibu--the blend contains spirits from Canada, the United States, Ireland and Scotland. The imported Whiskeys are 3-5-years-old, aged in their country of origin before being carefully blended with local Japanese material and matured a further 1-3 years at Chichibu. The Whisky is vatted in 2 x 5,000-litre wooden barrels built by French cooper Taransaud. Non-chill filtered, non-coloured, Chichibu Ichiro's Malt & Grain World Blended Whisky is a pure example of Akuto's whisky making expertise.