Ohishi Tokubetsu Reserve Japanese Whisky 750ml

Ohishi Tokubetsu Reserve is the crown of the Ohishi range, a special reserve blend built around some of the oldest rice whisky stocks resting in the distillery's Kumamoto warehouses. Near the tiny mountain village of Mizukami, the Ohishi family draws its production water from the upper reaches of the Kuma River, prized across Japan for its clarity and speed, and grows a meaningful share of its own rice in the surrounding fields.

Tokubetsu, meaning special, is exactly what this blend is. It marries three distinct sherry-cask matured components: roughly a third seven-year-old whisky, a third ten-year-old, and nearly a third twenty-seven-year-old stock, all drawn from first-fill and second-fill sherry casks. Fewer than 1,500 bottles were released worldwide, making this one of the scarcest expressions the distillery has ever offered.

The rice distillate, made from varieties including estate-grown gohyakumangoku and local mochi rice, gives the whisky a silky, gently sweet foundation that decades of sherry wood have deepened dramatically. The nose offers pear, vanilla custard, amaretto, and an earthy hint of mushroom. The palate moves through dried fig, tobacco leaf, clove, and white peppercorn over polished oak, and the long finish resolves into butterscotch, raisin, and soft vanilla. Bottled at a graceful 81 proof, it drinks with remarkable elegance for a whisky carrying this much cask influence.

For collectors of Japanese whisky, Tokubetsu Reserve represents something genuinely uncommon: extensively aged rice whisky from a family operation that predates nearly every famous name in the category. It rewards slow, contemplative sipping from a proper glass, no water needed.

• Size: 750ml
• Proof: 81 (40.5% ABV)
• Age: Blend of approximately 7, 10, and 27 year old whiskies
• Origin: Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan
• Distillery: Ohishi Distillery
• Style: Japanese rice whisky, special reserve blend
• Composition: 100% rice, including estate-grown varieties
• Cask/Aging: First-fill and second-fill sherry casks
• Tasting Notes: Pear, vanilla custard, dried fig, clove, butterscotch, raisin