Distillery
Kurayoshi
In the town of Kurayoshi, at the foot of Mount Daisen in Japan's Tottori Prefecture, an old sake and shochu maker turned to whisky. Matsui Shuzo had been in business since 1910 before earning its whisky licence in 2015. Distilling began here in 2017 with a trio of small pot stills. The water is soft, filtered through volcanic soil and drawn from a deep aquifer near the Sea of Japan. Big swings in temperature push maturation along faster than you might expect. What sets Kurayoshi apart is its taste for unusual casks. Alongside sherry and wine wood, the spirit rests in Mizunara Japanese oak and even Sakura cherry wood, giving its whisky a distinctly local accent.
