The Matsui Mizunara Cask

I was intrigued to try this and bought it as a gift for a whisky lover/collector. As much as we tried to be impressed we were both left disappointed. Yes, there is clever intention behind it, a new approach to the nose, mouth feel and flavour profile (starfruit and seaweed being dominant) however, it never really opened up as other reviews have suggested. We waited patiently and very much hoped for the best but were underwhelmed. The pale colour is a true reflection of its youth and lack of flavour maturity. At £100 a bottle I would not buy this again and find the cheaper priced Yamazaki Distillers Reserve or Nikka from the Barrel infinitely more bang for your buck

15th November 2022

This is a fairly young whisky, however the age suits the flavor profile fairly well. The fruitiness and delicate sweetness would almost certainly be lost, and overall become a muted but woodier profile. This isn't a great value in whisky (hard to find good value in Japanese whisky these days), but very appreciable taste wise. Anyone curious about what a Mizunara cask adds to a whisky would be good to try this first: the cask is actually helped by the assertive taste of this whisky. Under 90-100 USD, I would recommend unless you are absolutely against younger / NAS whisky. This is pretty well done, all things considered.

29th April 2021

Jim Murray gave this gem 95 points. He was exactly right. The light fresh floral nose leads into a complex palate with traces of orange peel, oak and a delicious sweet caramel flint. Its very light in colour, but don't let that put you off - it makes up for it in flavour and character as all Japanese whiskys are famous for doing. Big strong characters..small marketing budgets. They let the whisky do the talking for themselves. I tried this as the Hey Whisky 2020 Fair in Shenzhen and IMHO would rate it BEST In SHOW!!
A wonderful dram for any whisky connoisseur 🙌🙌🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

30th October 2020

Absolutely delightful, I purchased mine for only 60 SGD at a liquor store in Japan and it was well worth the price! The notes by the Master of Malt are pretty much on point, but I would say I got a bit of raisins and bright green apples on the nose as well. The lingering subtle smoke on the finish wasn't something I expected, but I loved it. Would highly recommend if you are able to get it locally in Japan, and if you do not mind the controversy that had plagued the Matsui Shuzo brand in the earlier years.

22nd March 2020