Shizuoka Pot Still W

Shizuoka Pot Still W is a NAS cask strength single malt from Gaiaflow's Shizuoka distillery in Shizuoka prefecture, produced on the distillery's wood-fired pot still. Shizuoka, opened in 2016, is unusual among modern Japanese craft distilleries in operating two distinct pot stills with different heating methods, a distinction that shapes the character of each release series meaningfully. This 2023 Japanese market bottling continues the annual W programme.

Matured in Ex-Bourbon casks and bottled at 55.5%, the W release programme is built around the soft, rounded spirit that the wood-fired still tends to produce, with bourbon oak lending vanilla and light caramel to the fresh, clean Shizuoka new make. Cedar washback fermentation is a constant across both series, adding a faintly herbal quality that is part of the distillery's identity. Specific flavour notes for this bottling are not recorded, but the W series consistently draws on the same house character across editions.