An 18 year old blended whisky from Japanese producer, Chugoku Jozo. Bottled for the Togouchi range, which are aged in tunnels rather than a warehouse, this is on the higher end of the age scale for their releases. This comes through on the nose and palate with plenty of expressive, fragrant oak notes alongside bright fruit touches.
Close to Hiroshima, Chugoku Jozo has been producing a range of liquors, sakes and shochus for almost a century, with their first blended whisky being released in 1990.
The raw materials are carefully selected by the Master Blender, following scrupulous criteria and attention to detail. He then personally takes care of the maturation and blending processes, adding his own special Japanese touch.
Maturation takes place within a unique setting - a 361 metre long tunnel dating back to 1970, offering a constant temperature of 14C and 80% humidity - the perfect ageing conditions.
Togouchi 18 year old is similar to Scottish Lowland whisky, famed for its floral and malted notes. A rounded texture and complex aromatic profile express themselves through intense fruity and woody notes.
Produced from 60% grain and 40% malt whisky and tunnel-matured for 18 years.
Tasting Notes
Nose: smooth aromas of peach and pear
Palate: a powerful and balanced blend of white pepper, malted cereals and violets
Finish: dry and lingering notes of pine nuts and sunflower seeds
About Togouchi produced by Sakurao
Sakurao Distillery is located in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, which lies on the coast of the Seto Inland Sea. This coastal area is blessed with natural wealth and is located opposite the World Heritage Site of Miyajima.
The distillery is managed by Sakurao Brewery and Distillery, which has been dedicated to brewing and distilling since its founding over 100 years ago. The distillery produces malt whisky, grain whisky and gin. They pay special attention
to every detail in their production – selecting ingredients from Hiroshima, custom-built stills and using traditional English distillation methods.
The malt whisky produced here has undergone a process that has been perfected down to the smallest detail – malt grinding, fermentation, double distillation and cask aging. Each step is important to give the whisky its characteristically strong and unique flavour.
Grain whisky is made here from Japanese barley and malt. The ground barley and malt are added to warm water and the mixture is then heated so that the starches in the barley are broken down into sugar by enzymes from the malt. The process that takes place here is called “mashing”.
The mashed mash is cooled to around 25°C and yeast is added to start fermentation. The mixture is placed in a fermentation tank for around 3 days and when fermentation is complete, a mash with an alcohol content of around 10% will be ready.
Distillation then takes place using a custom-made still and a technique carefully passed down from generation to generation for over 100 years.
43.8% ABV
70cl
