Other Whisk(e)ys

Umiki Whisky
Whisky Finished in Pine Barrels

46% ABV
$50
Website

We would like to thank Umiki Whisky for sending us a sample to review.

What the Producer Says

OCEAN | Ocean is known as the source of life with its vast resources and placed in the heart of Japanese culture.

TREE | Pine tree is the symbol of life where gods believed to reside in and symbol of eternity in Japan with its long life…

WHISKY | To honor the life-giving ocean and the long-living pine tree that graces coasts of Japan, we blended pure desalinated ocean water with ocean side distilled Japanese malt whiskies and imported grain whiskies after finishing our curation in Japanese pine barrels.

TASTE | The sustainable process of UMIKI gives an exceptional smoothness to our whisky with sea-breeze on the nose, rounded floral taste on the palate and a soothing freshness in the finish.

NAME | Umiki is world’s first ocean fused whisky brand finished in Japanese pine barrels. This unique production technique also gave the name to UMIKI – Ocean tree whisky whereby “UMI” means “OCEAN” and “KI” means “TREE” in Japanese.

MISSION | Umiki is a sustainable whisky where we use only pure ocean water for blending. We are committed to share the value of living in harmony with our beautiful planet through the lifetime of Umiki.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Soft, pine sap with malted grain, earthy, sea air and a hint of brown sugar.
Palate:  Sweet entry with a soft mouthfeel, treacle, honey, slight pepper spice, anise and unripe pears.
Finish:  Short to moderate in length with malt, pepper and honey.
Comments:  This is definitely unique – the first whisk(e)y I’ve ever had where pine barrels were used (that I know of)! The pine notes are more prominent on the nose, which reminds me of sipping a young malt whisk(e)y in a pine forest. It does taste young to me (non-age stated), but has enough unique character to keep me interested and sipping. I appreciate the higher ABV, and non-chill filtering as well. If there is variation from batch to batch, what I sampled was batch 2020.04.

Rating: Stands Out

Kura The Whisky Pure Malt Japanese Rum Barrel Finish

40% ABV
$50 – $60
Website

What the Distillery Says

Made in the southernmost region of Japan, the exceptional “Kura The Whisky” is the result of careful aging in American White Oak. Finished in Japanese rum casks, its remarkable sweet aroma is accompanied by its distinctive mellow taste. The permeance of the unique Okinawa islands is infused with this premium spirit. Crafted in exceptionally small quantities.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Peat, iodine, sea salt, herbaceous with vanilla undertones and a whiff of smoke.
Palate:  Sweet honey & vanilla, peat followed by melon and vegetal notes.
Finish:  Moderately long with peat and vegetal notes.
Comments: Of the 3 samples from the Flaviar tasting box, this was my favorite – although that’s a low bar.  Heavy peat although not a lot of smoke – which makes it interesting.  I didn’t get any rum influence (maybe the melon on the palate?)  Note that ‘Pure Malt’ designation with Japanese whiskies is similar to the ‘blended malt’ designation in scotch whisky – and in fact Japan allows bottling of whisky distilled elsewhere (like Scotland) to be labeled ‘Japanese’ if it is bottled there.  In this case, source state this is a blend of malt whisky from Scotland, which Helios rested in their own ex-rum casks before bottling.  No age statement, and it doesn’t have a lot of complexity.

Rating: Stands Out