Ohishi Sherry Cask Japanese Whisky

All Ohishi whiskies are first matured in either sherry or ex-brandy casks before being bottled or going into their finishing casks.

Because rice whisky is so elegant and soft, it has the ability to take on characteristics of the cask type very quickly. No whisky is released before it is ready as determined by Kazunori Oishi.

TASTING NOTES

Dried fruits with nutmeg and christmas cake

THE PROCESS

There are 5 steps in making Ohishi Whisky.

The entire process takes over 21 days of dedication and care just to make the distillate before any maturation begins.

Step 1 - Making Koji Rice. Locally grown rice is steamed and cooled after which white koji seed is added to help get the rice ready for fermentation. This process takes 40 hours.

​Step 2 - Primary Fermentation. The Koji Rice is then added to in ground clay pots along with yeast and water. This primary fermentation process lasts for 7 days and will be the backbone of the larger fermentation run.

Step 3 - Secondary Fermentation. More locally grown rice is steamed and cool and is then added with the primary ferment and water into a larger fermentation tank where main fermentation will occur. This will last for 14 days and the final abv will be about 16-18%.

​Step 4 - Distillation. The wash is moved into a stainless steel pot still where it is distilled to average abv of 45%.

Step 5 - Maturation. After distillation the distillate is then put into Sherry or Ex-Brandy Casks where it will be laid to rest for years in one of the Ohishi warehouses located by the distillery.