Kaiyo Mizunara Oak Cask Strength Japanese Whisky

Classification: Japanese Whisky *
Distillery:  Kaiyo Distillery
Mashbill: See longer explanation below *
Age: NAS
Proof: 106 (each cask will differ slightly)

This pour feels like a fruit basket that decided to take up chocolate as a second career.

On the nose, it’s a festival of fruit with mizunara’s peppery whisper and a dusting of cocoa powder—like sandalwood and chocolate shook hands in the middle of an orchard.

On the palate, stone fruit leads the way, with a quick burst of proof heat that mellows into plums and tart red berries dunked in dark chocolate. Keep sipping and more chocolate and vanilla show up, coating the mouth like they paid for a long-term lease.

The finish stays sweet and rich—fruity, chocolatey, and surprisingly light on oak, which lets the other notes strut their stuff.

Overall: The mizunara influence is subtle, not showboating, but that’s exactly what makes this dram shine. It’s cherry-chocolate decadence balanced with stone fruit brightness—a delicious reminder that sometimes the supporting actor steals the scene.

*Kaiyo’s a bit of a rebel. Technically, it’s all distilled and aged in Japan, but they don’t put “Japanese whisky” on the label—probably just to dodge the paperwork and the whisky police.

Here’s the twist: it’s teaspooned. That means they sneak in just a drop of whisky from another distillery, not enough to change the flavor, but enough to disqualify it from being called a single malt. Petty? Maybe. Clever? Definitely.

Then there’s the mizunara casks—fancy, expensive, and stubborn as hell to work with, but they give Kaiyo its unique character. Oh, and when the whisky’s done aging on land? They stick it on a boat and let it slosh around the open ocean. Because… why not?

Cask strength, mizunara oak, ocean finish—it’s basically Japanese whisky with a pirate side hustle.