Makoto 1995 (Bushido Whisky)

Makoto 1995 is a single grain whisky distilled at Kumesen Distillery Co., Ltd. on Kumejima island, Okinawa Prefecture, in 1995 and bottled in 2019 after 23 years of maturation. The release was selected and brought to market by Bushido Whisky for the USA in a 750ml format at 42%, making it one of the rarer independent presentations of Kumesen stock outside the distillery's own Kujira label.

The spirit spent 23 years in bourbon casks under Okinawa's subtropical heat, a combination that typically develops the rice grain base into something soft, honeyed and concentrated, with tropical fruit sweetness, gentle cereal and vanilla emerging from the long bourbon-wood contact. The extended ageing in a warm climate condenses the spirit and smooths the grain character considerably. Without a specific recorded flavour profile for this bottling, the character follows the typical Kumesen profile at extended age: warm, mellow and quietly tropical, with the bourbon cask providing the structural thread.