Japanese Whisky Review: Akkeshi Blended Whisky Usui (厚岸ブレンデッドウイスキー雨水)
Not a bad blend, but I prefer the single-malt offerings.
Akkeshi Blended Whisky Usui (厚岸ブレンデッドウイスキー雨水) / 48% / ¥10,000 ($68 USD)
Tasted neat
The second release in Akkeshi Distillery’s “24 Solar Terms” (二十四節気シリーズ) series, Usui (雨水, Rain-water) takes more than 50% domestically distilled-in-Hokkaido single-malt whisky aged in Mizunara barrels, and blends it with imported grain whisky which has been aged in a combination of sherry, port, and ex-bourbon barrels.
Bottled in 2021, this is a NAS blended whisky, but probably between 4–5 years old with an out-turn of 15,000 bottles.
- Color: tawny (1.4)
- Nose: peat, marzipan, plastic, corn-on-the-cob, maltesers
- Taste: varnish, gummy bears, green tea, pine needle oil, and custard
- Finish: medium, caramel on vanilla ice cream, flowers
This doesn’t quite hit the mark for me, the way that their 100% single malts do, but it’s OK as a blended whisky. Unfortunately, it uses imported malt, so it cannot strictly be called a blended Japanese whisky. I think in terms of flavour profile, it’s a bit of a muddle, unfortunately.
One important thing to note is that Akkeshi is trying for quality; the bottle is significantly heavier/thicker than normal, the enclosure is top-grade, and the imported grain whisky is good. I am also excited about their gradual transition to using domestically grown barley and peat.
Rating: 4/10
