Takamine 8Yr Japanese Whiskey

Asakura, Japan

40% ABV

Named after Dr. Jokichi Takamine, a Japanese chemist living in Illinois, who first applied koji fermentation - the same process used to start sake, soy sauce, and miso - to American whiskey in the 1890s.  While koji fermented whiskey failed to catch on, over a hundred years later Honkaku Spirits has merged Japan's love of whiskey with such a culturally important process.  The result is an incredibly soft and light mouthfeel. The taste is earthen with mushroom, grass, and umami. The whiskey has a touch of smoke amidst a small amount of vanilla. In the middle, lots of citrus in both peel and oil form.  Sprinkled throughout the dram is a mix of pink and black peppercorns.

100 percent pearled two-row barley

40 percent koji-fermented barley and 60 percent steamed barley

double pot-still distillation to a barrel proof of 86.7%

Aged in new American oak and ex-bourbon barrels