Shinobu 10 Years Old

Shinobu 10 Years Old is a blended malt from the Shinobu Distillery in Niigata prefecture, a smaller Japanese house whose releases have drawn attention for their patient approach to wood and age. At 10 years, this expression reaches well beyond the youth common to many craft-era Japanese whiskies, and was bottled at 43% for the European market.

Maturation unfolds across three cask types: Ex-Bourbon barrels contribute vanilla and orchard fruit, Oloroso sherry hogsheads add dried fruit and a hint of dark spice, and a finishing period in mizunara Japanese oak lends the faint sandalwood and incense character that cask type is known for. The result is rounded and layered, with fresh fruit from the bourbon wood, richer dried-fruit notes from the sherry, and a gentle resinous lift from the mizunara finish.