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Akkeshi Blended Whisky Shosho, the fourth in the “24 Season Series” of Akkeshi Whisky, is limited to 10,000 bottles. This is the first release in three months since the last single malt Japanese whisky boushu release.

・The first single malt whisky, Kanro, will be released on October 28, 2020.
・The second release, blended whisky,Usui, will be released on February 28, 2021.
・The third release will be a single malt Japanese whisky,boushu release on May 28, 2021.
・The fourth blended whisky, Shosho, will be released on August 25, 2021.

This 24-season series will be released alternately as single malt and blended, and this time it will be blended.

“The year is divided into 24 equal parts, and the seasons are named after them.
“Vanishing heat is the fourteenth of the twenty-four seasons. It is the 14th of the 24 seasonal seasons. The word “heat” means to stop, and the heat eases and a cool breeze begins to blow in the morning and evening. It is also the time of harvest for grains and other crops, but it is also the arrival of the typhoon season.

As the 24 solar terms are not fixed dates, they change from year to year, and in 2021, the first day of summer will be August 23. In 2021, the summer heat will be on August 23, and the summer heat will last for about 15 days from August 23 to September 7, which is the 15th day of the 24th solar term, Hakuro.

The Bottle

Most of the whiskey is aged for four years. Bourbon barrels are the main ingredient, and the phenol value, which represents peat, is 20ppm.

The second blended whisky, “Blended Whisky Usui”, was mainly made from 3 years old sake, but “Blended Whisky Shosho” is mainly made from 4 years old sake. The composition of the raw material is mainly bourbon barrels, adjusted with sherry and wine bar rels.

Some people who have already drunk this whisky may feel that it has a more aged feel.

In addition, the peatiness and sweetness unique to the Akkeshi has been brushed up with each release, and this one has a complexity that is hard to believe for a blended beer, a maturation feeling that is even deeper, and a gentle peaty aroma with a phenolic value of 20ppm. The sweetness that lurks in the peat is still present in this release. It is a blended whisky with a complex and refined taste, and you can enjoy the peatiness of the Akkeshi brand, which has both “peat” and “sweetness”.

 

Our Take

That unique peaty taste of Akkeshi is no longer an exaggeration to say “Akkeshi brand”.

It is a blend of malt from various barrels, including peated malt, and imported grain aged in the Akkeshi region. “Even the blended whisky “Usui” had a very rich aroma and heavy flavor that made me think it was like a single malt. I believe that the various aromas and flavors that come out in multiple layers are the result of the Akkeshi Distillery’s dedication to the creation of raw materials and the maturing environment of the Akkeshi region.

From the first release to this one, all of them have been released every three to four months at a very fast pace. So the next release will be in November or December? If that’s the case, I wonder if the naming will be “Rittou,” “Shosetsu,” or “Taisetsu.

The next release will be a single malt, since the 24 Season series seems to alternate between single malt and blended. I’m looking forward to the next one and can’t wait for it.

“The next release will be a single malt. If the pace is 3 bottles per year, it will take 8 years to complete the series. I would definitely like to complete the series.

The Akkeshi Distillery’s future plans include growing barley, the raw material for whiskey, in the Akkeshi area, and producing all of its whiskey, including peat and wooden barrels for maturation, in the Akkeshi area, with the aim of creating an “all-star” whiskey in the future.

This year, too, it seems that the sowing of Akkeshi barley was successfully completed in mid-May. “It seems that preparations are steadily underway for the “Akkeshi All Star.

They are also stepping up their efforts to use Hokkaido barley (Furano, Nakashibetsu) as a raw material, and although the Hokkaido barley they tested in 2018 cost more than twice as much as the Scottish barley and had an alcohol yield of about 80-90%, the flavors were Japanese (warm tangerine, roasted chestnuts, dense roasted sweet potato). From 2019, they will be producing about 10% of the distillery’s barley from Hokkaido.

If you want to know more about the Akkeshi Distillery, it was featured on BS Fuji’s Whiskipedia in December 2020, so be sure to check out that distribution.
The program is not only about the charm of Akkeshi whiskey, but also about the nature of Akkeshi town, the fishery centering on oyster fishing, and the marriage of whiskey and oysters from Akkeshi.

(All Images Courtesy of JPWhisky.net)

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