Matsui Shuzo The Kurayoshi 12 Years Old

The Kurayoshi 12 Years Old is a blended malt from Matsui Shuzo in Tottori prefecture, released for the European market at 43%. Twelve years of maturation in Ex-Bourbon casks marks a step up in complexity from the 8 Years Old expressions in the range, allowing the wood's vanilla and fruit contributions more time to integrate with the spirit. The provenance of the malt component in earlier Kurayoshi expressions has included sourced stock, and this bottling should be understood in that context.

The Ex-Bourbon maturation delivers honey, toasted vanilla and dried orchard fruit on the palate, with a slightly fuller texture than the younger expressions and a mellow woodspice warmth on the finish. At 43% the spirit is easy and measured, reflecting a style designed for consistent palatability across a wide audience. This is a well-composed blended malt for Tottori, showing the benefit of additional age in American oak.