Nine Leaves Almost Spring Cabernet Sauvignon Cask

Nine Leaves is a one man Japanese distillery run by Yoshiharu Takeuchi, working a pot still in the hills near Lake Biwa and bottling youthful, expressive molasses rum. Almost Spring spends a single year in a Cabernet Sauvignon cask, an unusual wine influence that gives this bottling its quirky, almost grappa like personality at 48 percent.

The pot still spirit is light bodied and the short wine ageing reads clearly, with a fermented, sake like nose moving into grapes, malt and dry barrel notes, then a finish of red fruits, nougat and a faintly salty edge. Honeyed sweetness sits underneath but the overall impression is dry and a little sharp, closer to a young eau de vie than a plush aged rum. It suits drinkers who enjoy lighter, offbeat spirits and want to see how a wine cask reshapes a young Japanese rum.