Wakatsuru Saburomaru Saburomaru 2021

Saburomaru 2021, bottled at 48% for the Dutch market in 2024, is the lower-strength counterpart to the 60% Netherlands release from the same vintage year. Wakatsuru Shuzo's Saburomaru distillery in Toyama prefecture issued multiple bottlings from the 2021 distillation, giving buyers in the same export market a choice of intensity from the same season's production.

Ex-Bourbon maturation over 3 years provides the familiar structure of vanilla and lightly toasted oak. The flavour notes for this batch include fresh fruit, a husky, grainy edge and kippery peat smoke, character that sits well within Saburomaru's peated house tradition and reflects the young, vivid nature of the spirit at this stage. At 48% cask strength, the expression is full but more approachable than its 60% sibling, and gives a clear view of the 2021 vintage's fruit and smoke balance from Toyama's most distinctive distillery.