Distillery
Kaiyo
Kaiyo takes its name from the Japanese word for ocean, a clue to how this whisky is made. Malt whisky distilled in Japan rests on land for three years before blending. It then spends three months at sea in shipping containers, aging further as the vessel rolls and rocks. The casks are new Mizunara oak, made by Ariake Sangyo, Japan's only independent cooperage. Master blender Jeffrey Karlovitch oversees the blending, working with wood he has described as tricky but worth the trouble. Mizunara brings spicy, incense-like notes of sandalwood and aloe that few other casks can match. Because part of that maturation happens outside Japan, Kaiyo cannot legally be called Japanese whisky, even though every drop is distilled there. It is one of the few whisky makers anywhere that ages its casks at sea on purpose.
