When you know that it was Keiichi Toita’s dream to create an Islay style whisky, made in Japan… You’ll know he must have been happy with this dram! The Akkeshi Claude x Salud Friendship Cask is a single cask bottling in honour of the friendship Claude Whisky and Salud Spirits have built up over the years, and for this special occasion they were allowed to bottle one of the best Akkeshi releases to date. One of the first single cask Akkeshi bottlings for the European market, and an absolute Islay style peat monster at that!
Keiichi Toita worked his entire carreer in the dairy industry, but as a long time fan of the Ardbeg 17, when the time came for a carreer change it had to be whisky. And something new for Japan at that. Heavily peated Islay style single malt. After years of searching for the perfect location to build his distillery, he found just the place in Hokkaido Akkeshi. Where the water tastes like peat just like on Islay and the warehouses are envelopped in an ocean mist, giving a maturation that reminded him of Islay’s shore located distilleries.
Tasting Notes: Akkeshi Claude x Salud Friendship Cask
Stats:
Age: 3 years old
ABV: 58%
Distillery: Akkeshi
Natural Colour: Yes
Chill-filtered: No
Nose:
Maritime influences pair with waves of peat, citrus fruit and sweet confectionary treats. Vanilla icing on belgian waffles pair with notes of dark chocolate and charred bacon bits. A lovely vegetal peat finds it counterpart in umami notes of nori and miso paste. Lemon zest and yuzu pair with a tropical mango sorbet. There’s plenty of complexity here, though the striking first impression will always be peat, glorious peat!
Palet:
A balance of peppery peat and indulgent citrus sweets. Lemon pops, chocolate oranges and candied honeycomb pair beautifully with roasted pepper corns, charred tenderloin strips and ashy bacon bits. The mouthfeel is thick and oily and the effect of tannins from the time spent in a sherry cask is still on the low end, refraining from giving this dram a dry mouthfeel.
Finish:
The finish is long and shows an interplay of savoury and sweet notes like on the palate. Liquorice root, fat drippings smoldering on bbq coals, grilled leeks and burnt orange peels pair with honey, vanilla and dark fruit lemonade. Lovely stuff!
Food Pairing:
As much as a savoury option would make sense here (medium rare steak, olive oil dipped bread, or salted macademia’s would all work wonders with this dram) my personal preference would be the sweet option. If I were to pair this with some mango sorbet, dark chocolate covered mandarins or pistache ice cream I would be one happy camper.
Verdict:
What a joy to enjoy! When nosing and tasting this you would without a doubt guess that this were an Islay whisky. Which would be a great compliment for the maker of this dram. The fact that three and a half years of aging can produce such a well balanced dram still baffles me and proves that age is just a number. This is a heavy hitter in every aspect and a must have for any Akkeshi fan!
