Kumesen Distillery Co., Ltd. Kujira 20 Years Old

Kujira 20 Years Old in the 750ml USA-market format is a single grain whisky from Kumesen Distillery Co., Ltd. on Kumejima island, Okinawa Prefecture, sharing its age and cask type with the global 700ml release but presenting a notably different character on the palate.

After twenty years in bourbon casks under the subtropical Okinawan climate, the USA-market expression shows a medicinal, resinous quality alongside a distinctly oily, full-bodied texture. This heavier profile, relative to the global bottling, points to a different cask selection or fill position, and it illustrates how individual barrel variation can produce quite different results within the same age statement and wood programme. The rice grain base gives density and a long finish, and the two decades of island heat have concentrated the spirit into something more muscular and savoury than the lighter expressions in the Kujira lineup.