Hanyu Mizunara Head

Hanyu distillery in Saitama Prefecture closed in 2000 after producing single malt for Toa Shuzo from the early 1980s. The Mizunara Head expression uses a refill hogshead with a Mizunara Japanese Oak head inserted as the top of the cask, allowing targeted contact with the distinctive Japanese oak while the bulk of the spirit continues to interact with the American oak staves.

Mizunara is prized for the sandalwood, incense and temple-wood character it imparts slowly over time. Using only the head rather than a full Mizunara cask concentrates that influence in a more selective way, layering the Japanese oak note over rather than through the Ex-Bourbon base. Bottled at 59.2% cask strength from the 2000 vintage for an event release, the NAS designation acknowledges that the precise age of this particular vatting is unstated. The result is a technically specific expression of what Hanyu's Saitama site could achieve with native wood.