Shochu De Riz, Japan

After the 2009 Ohishi from the 2022 creation catalogue, made from 100% rice and aged in a mizunara cask, which was very similar to a Speyside single malt, this blend is made from 50% rice grown in the distillery’s own rice fields and 50% sweet potatoes. This shochu is also reminiscent of a great single malt from the same region of Scotland, this time aged in sherry casks. On the other hand, on the gustative level, change of scenery: the relationship with a vesou rum or even with a Bas-Armagnac from a sandy soil of boulbènes sounds more and more obvious.

TASTING NOTES

Nose : noble, deep. Marked by notes of beeswax, candied apricot, exotic fruits (mango, guava), chocolate and heady flowers (lily, iris), the initial nose is remarkably complex. Allowed to breathe, aromas of candied fruit (banana, walnut, prune, date) and citrus (orange, mandarin) provide even more intensity to the aromatic palette. Delicate, it evokes a Speyside single malt aged in sherry casks.

Appearance : old gold with copper reflections.

Palate : both firm and subtle. Wonderful flavours of rose petal, linden honey and lavender feed an initial nose of incredible finesse. Deliciously praline, the mid-palate reveals notes of flambéed banana, salted butter caramel and chocolate. The finish is spicy (pepper, nutmeg) and camphor.

Overall : long, subtle. With a particularly smooth texture, the start of the finish is marked by notes of stave oak and cedar of great nobility of expression. Lactic (coconut, vanilla ice cream) and exotic (pineapple, persimmon), the aftertaste is gradually covered with a fine tarry and musky film. With its notes of cane sugar and cane juice, the retro-nasal olfaction explores the universe of West Indian rums. Roasted (coffee, mocha) and heady (concrete iris, carnation), the empty glass demonstrates remarkable complexity.