Chugoku Jozo Togouchi 15 Years Old

Togouchi 15 Years Old is a blended whisky from Chugoku Jozo, based in Kure, Hiroshima, and the oldest standard age statement in the Togouchi range. Like its younger siblings, it matures inside the company's decommissioned railway tunnel, a long underground space that keeps temperature and humidity stable throughout the year.

Fifteen years in Ex-Bourbon casks produces the fresh fruit, vanilla and soft, creamy texture the tasting notes describe, with plastic-adjacent esters that often appear in long-rested bourbon wood. The slightly elevated strength of 43.8% gives the palate a little more grip than the lower-strength expressions, and the blend's combination of domestic and sourced spirit carries the cask character cleanly through to a gentle finish.