Shizuoka 5 Years Old 2019 Cask #1403 (Blackadder)

Shizuoka 5 Years Old 2019 Cask #1403 is a single cask single malt from Gaiaflow's Shizuoka distillery in Shizuoka prefecture, selected by Scottish independent Blackadder and released for the global market in 2025. Distilled in 2019 and matured for five years in a first-fill Bourbon Barrel, it arrives at the intense cask strength of 65.4%, one of the highest-proof expressions in the current Shizuoka single cask selection.

First-fill bourbon wood at this strength and age will have been active, giving the spirit a generous hit of vanilla, caramel and the light coconut spice that characterises new American oak. Flavour data for this specific cask is not recorded, but the 2019 vintage at Shizuoka is known for the clean, fruit-driven quality that comes from cedar washback fermentation and the distillery's carefully chosen local barley. The first-fill barrel will have amplified rather than hidden that brightness, delivering a bold, direct expression of young Shizuoka malt at full intensity.