A rich, Japanese Blended Whisky by Master Distiller Ken Usami for the Shinobu Distillery in Nigata Prefecture, Japan. It is crafted with 50% malted barley & grain; water that is snowmelt from the local mountains; then aged in ex-Bourbon, ex-Oloroso Sheery casks before being finish in Mizunara oak barrels that come from trees that are at least 200 years old. It has an aromatic birth with notes of grain, wood, herbs & spices; while a rich & woody life adds notes of oak, sandalwood, barley, cornflakes, vanilla & chocolate; that leads to a long & warming death with more wood notes. November 2020