The Single Cask is an independent bottler of Scotch whisky that specializes in single casks, as the name suggests.

It is widely known in the UK and has presence in Singapore, as well.

The next branch was Japan! Last year, I stumbled upon them on Instagram and started chatting with them privately by DM. I was gladly surprised I could communicate with them in English, as that’s rarely the case with companies established in Japan. 

I will not go into much detail about the company to respect their privacy, and because they don’t know what I’m writing in this piece… but at the moment the branch is new, small and very eager.

I’m happy to see them grow as they constantly post about new channels of distribution for their products, now being available at major retailers and online.

Now onto what they do:–

I find what they do extremely interesting as they not only bottle single casks as they were bought but also they experiment with double maturations, original cask finishes, etc. Some of these experiments are crazy and I love that!

The people at The Single Cask Japan were so nice to send me some samples, which I enjoyed with a fellow whisky lover. I cannot talk too much about them because I think a few drams are needed to fully assess a bottle of whisky.

I have now enjoyed four full bottles and I will try to talk about them a little in my next few paragraphs:

BLAIR ATHOL aged for 8 years, matured in a Hogshead. Cask 302037. 58.3%. Bottle 203 of 302. A sumptuous single malt with a classic woody, nutty profile that transports you to the Scottish Highlands.

CRAIGELLACHIE aged for 8 years, finished in a 2^nd fill Oloroso octave. Cask 800622A. 56.8%. Bottle 12 of 65. This cask finished gave it a luxurious feel of red fruits and Christmas cake. Definitely a dessert whisky in my book.

LEDAIG aged for 11 years, finished in an Ex-Guyana rum barrel. Cask 700421. 56.1%. Bottle 46 of 191. I don’t know whose idea was to do this but I can only say “thank you”. I have a long love for Ledaig single malts, but this finish is to die for! The subtle Highland peat smokiness pairs so well with the sweet flavors and aromas imparted by the rum barrel.

CAOL ILA aged for 13 years, finished in a (hold and behold) LAPHROAIG Quarter cask. Cask 303647A. 52.4%. Bottle 40 of 120. I had never thought of this, but as independent bottlers, they can pretty much do whatever they please… A distillate of Company A finished in a former cask by company B? Well, the results are state-of-the-art. The sweetness from Caol Ila with some saltiness from the Laphroaig cask worked wonders. Anyone who has tried cured ham on melon can understand my analogy… just perfection.

These four bottles were some of the best I had in 2022 and I made sure more people had the chance to try them: I send samples to friends, I poured drams to visitors to my house, and I even took them to parties…

Looking forward to trying more from them and I hereby recommend you all to do the same.

You can find out about these expressions and more on The Single Cask Japan and my Instagram:

1. @thesinglecask_japan

2. @armandrinksss

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Armando Cornejo Whisky & Cigars | 🇲🇽 Mexican in Japan 🇯🇵. 宜しくお願いします！ To view other reviews from Armando, click here! Follow him: Instagram | TikTok