Article first published by our partner, Japanese Whisky Dictionary. Visit them here. Find the original article here.

Akkeshi Blended Whisky Taisho, the eighth in the Akkeshi Whisky “Twenty-Four Season Series,” has been released. Finally, one third of the release has been completed.

It has been three months since the last single malt whisky Seimei was released.

This Twenty-Four Season series will be released alternately as single malt and blended, and this time it will be released as blended.

The 24 Seasonal Seasons are the seasons of the year divided into 24 equal parts and given names, such as “Risshun” and “Geshi” which we often hear about. 

The “Great Summer Heat” is the 12th day of the 24 solar terms, and the period from the summer solstice to Risshaku

around August 8, which is the hottest season in the year. During this period, many festivals and fireworks displays are held in various regions, and many summer events are held in the area.

The label design is indigo blue, which is reminiscent of yukata (summer kimono).

The Bottle

The key malt is “all Hokkaido’s original Mizunara oak barrels.

The key malt is all Mizunara oak from Hokkaido.

The flavor has a clear and distinct profile. The malts and grains of Akkeshi Malt and Grain are well harmonized and well put together.

The slightly smoky peat is like incense. It is characterized by a slightly strong and dry taste. With peat and sweetness, which are the characteristics of Akkeshi whiskey, as the core, citrus acidity such as grapefruit and orange, sweetness of honey and chocolate, and cookie-like savory taste continue, and then turn into spicy aftertaste such as white pepper.

Our Take

The blends released so far have been “Rain Water”, “Dosetsu”, and “Daichan”.

The “Dosetsu” was awarded the world’s highest prize in the blended category at the “World Whisky Awards (WWA) 2022” and was a unique whisky reminiscent of a single malt.

This time, “Great Heat” has a more pronounced impression of quercus, with a lactic acidic richness, fruit acidity, bitter sweetness, and a lingering peaty finish. 

It is released about every three months, so the next release will probably be around the end of November. We expect it to be either “frostfall” or “light snow,” but it will be fun to wait and see what the name of the next release will be.

If you want to know more about the Akkeshi Distillery, please check out BS Fuji’s Whiskipedia in December 2020, which had a special feature on the distillery.

The program is not only about the appeal of Akkeshi whisky, but also about the nature of Akkeshi-cho, the fishing industry centering on oyster fishing, and the marriage of whisky and oysters from Akkeshi.

(All Images Courtesy of JPWhisky.net)

For more awesome Japanese Whisky content, go visit: