Hikari Shuzo Barrel Aged Shochu 2006/2020 - 13 y.o. - Oloroso Cask #Isnishbol1/2006 - Artful Dodger

Volume: 0.5 litres | Alcohol content: 43.2% | Chill filtration: Yes | Colouring: No

Special Features:

This Japanese barley shochu gained its distinctive character from thirteen years of maturation in a single Oloroso sherry cask. Hikari Shuzo distilled it from malted barley in Fukuoka Prefecture in 2006; Artful Dodger bottled it at 43.2% in 2020 in bottles holding 0.5 litres.

Cask #Isnishbol1/2006 yielded just 439 bottles. The combination of Japanese shochu tradition, long maturation in an Oloroso cask and presentation as a single-cask release gives this edition a particularly distinctive identity.

Dried fruit and gentle sweetness sit alongside nutty malt, delicate umami, citrus and clean spice. The bottling thus brings together the fruity, spicy influence of the Oloroso cask and the malty, savoury character of the barley distillate.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: The nose combines elegant dried fruit with subtle spice and gentle sweetness.
• Palate: On the palate, complex notes of nutty malt meet delicate umami and a light citrus note.
• Finish: The finish is long and elegant, with clean, finely balanced spice lingering gently.

Distillery/Bottler:

Hikari Shuzo is based in Kasuya, Fukuoka Prefecture, and was founded in 1959. The company produces sake and shochu, using rice and barley for its Hakata Kojorou shochu range. Hikari Shuzo distilled the malted-barley shochu for this bottling in 2006.

Artful Dodger Whisky Collective is an independent single-cask bottler based in Brighton that focuses on selecting rare individual casks. For this edition, Artful Dodger selected the single Oloroso cask after thirteen years of maturation and bottled the shochu matured in it in 2020.

Facts: