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750ml
Bottle:
$41.40
Get back to nature; this is a whisky to savor during a spectacular sunrise. Lychee, edamame, pea shoots, green apple,...
700ml
Bottle:
$42.18
$44.40
12 bottles:
$39.90
Showing a nose combining earthy aromas of barley cake, toasted walnut, and campfire smoke with more fruit driven...
750ml
Bottle:
$18.34
12 bottles:
$17.42
A medium-to full-bodied carmenere with lots of dark, grilled cumin, black beans, olives and smoked meat. Dry and...
750ml
Bottle:
$16.38
12 bottles:
$16.05
Deep black red color. Intense complex nose: tobacco, minty, red and black currant aromas and smoky integrated oak...
750ml
Bottle:
$21.96
$24.40
12 bottles:
$19.76
Deep violet red. An intense, pure Carmenère, packed with blueberries and wild berries. Floral hints like violets and...
750ml
Bottle:
$148.50
$199.94
Prunes, forest honey, vanilla seeds, dark chocolate cookies, and Brazil nut, with hints of chocolate orange and...
750ml
Bottle:
$32.36
$34.80
12 bottles:
$30.78
Number 19 in the 2020 Top 20. This new, higher proof Iwai (pronounced EE-why) was designed for cocktails; however,...
750ml
Bottle:
$47.43
$51.00
12 bottles:
$43.32
This carmine dram has a soft, mellow nose of raisin, earthy red wine notes, wet slate, prune flesh, stewed rhubarb,...
700ml
Bottle:
$38.76
$40.80
12 bottles:
$36.48
Blending only the best malt and grains, combined with the fresh spring water from the streams of Mount Daisen...
700ml
Bottle:
$126.54
$133.20
Honey-tinged and citrus-laden nose with subtle suggestions of yellow apple skin, cherry compote, and maple. Fresh...
750ml
Bottle:
$249.94
$349.94
Showing an attractive straw-gold color, this mature whisky has bright flavors of baked cereal grains, toasted vanilla...
700ml
Bottle:
$99.18
$104.40
A very soft and alluring nose reveals an elegant whisky that has myriad flavors of gingerbread, pound cake, malt...
700ml
Bottle:
$78.66
$82.80
Kurayoshi Distillery lies between Osaka and Hiroshima in the foothills of Mount Daisen, where it produces single malt...
700ml
Bottle:
$78.66
$82.80
This whisky has an elegant nose, with faint whispers of baked apple, buttercream, and dried lemon peel. The palate is...
750ml
Bottle:
$19.93
$22.00
12 bottles:
$17.48
As always, this Carmenère is intense red color with a violet hue. It offers numerous aromas of tremendous intensity....
750ml
Bottle:
$89.90
$94.80
A consistent Purple Angel that really delivers the carmenere’s plushness when ripened well. Dark olives,...
750ml
Bottle:
$69.23
Ambrosial notes of sprouted grain, honey, bacon fat and orange blossom accompany deeper notes of toasted hazelnut....
Carmenere Japanese Whiskey Mencia
The deep blue colored grapes of the Carmenere varietal have their origins in France, where they are still listed as one of the elite grape varietals allowed by French law for the use in Bordeaux wines, generally regarded to be the finest in the world. However, the use of Carmenere grapes in France has been dwindling for many decades now, and it has been in several New World countries where they have seen their renaissance. Although still mostly used as a blending grape, single variety Carmenere wines are greatly sought after as a result of their deep, complex aromas, stunning blood red color and the fact that the grapes, when processed at optimum ripeness, carry some fascinating flavors, including chocolate, tobacco, and spicy cherry notes.
Whisky might not be the first thing that springs to mind when we think of Japanese fine produce, but over the past one hundred years, this fascinating and multi-faceted country has diligently forged a unique whisky identity which is growing in popularity, and which is entirely its own.
The story of Japanese whisky begins in 1918, when Masataka Taketsuru was sent to Scotland to undertake a tour of single malt distilleries in the Highlands, and bring home a knowledge of whisky and distillation skills. He returned full of inspiration, helped no doubt by his new Scottish wife, and alongside his friend, Shinjiro Torii, set up what would become a successful whisky industry.
Today, the Japanese whisky industry is spread over a relatively small handful of distilleries, which continue to use Scottish techniques and recipes, but with a hefty dose of distinctly Japanese experimentalism. This is displayed most obviously in the barrelling techniques the Japanese use - to create a distinctly Oriental set of tasting notes, native Japanese oakwood casks are used for ageing, alongside casks taken from plum wine producers, which impart a beautiful set of floral flavors to the whisky.
While some distilleries produce some excellent single malts, the majority of Japanese whiskies are blended, which reveals a unique set of flavors and aromas ranging from honeysuckle and orange blossom, to toffee and acetone.