Gaiaflow Shizuoka Distillery is a new distillery in Shizuoka prefecture.  They are perhaps most famous for having acquired one of the Karuizawa stills, but they also built a second very unusual still for the modern era, built by Forsyths, fired by wood. This is primarily their wash still, but also used for spirit distillation.  The distillery started operations in October 2016 and prior to this release they released the prologue K and W release.  This was their first full release of the blended product at about 4 years after the distillery started.  And here they blended spirit distilled on both the K and W stills, but also unpeated and peated spirit.  Now that peated component, it’s light.  I didn’t even pick it up until the bottle had been open a while, but since it has grown more noticeable.  Somewhat similar to Highland Park on the nose, with peat akin to peated casks of Ardnamurchan on the palate.  It’s definitely noticeable, but no smoke monster.

Country/Region:  Japan/Shizuoka prefecture 

Color: 0.6 old gold (NCA) 

ABV: 55.5% (NCF) 

Nose: Malty, and the sense of bread cooking in a wood fired oven with an estery note that isn’t exactly fruity or floral, a bit of lacquer.   

Palate: Bready with more assertive phenolic Islay-like smoke than the nose portends followed by a bit of sultanas, dried date, rich without being heavy.  Develops with granny smith, kiwi, lemon, and some drying black teas, pencil shavings, with a warming smoke and sweetness.  With water; more vanilla and smoke is evident on arrival, a bit of honey roasted peanut adds to the core notes.

Finish: Long, especially for the age with vanilla, cinnamon, mace, ground ginger, bread, dry wood smoke, maple. 

Rating: 89  

Summary: This distillery has captured ton of attention for the Karuizawa still, but that’s just a tool. If you don’t know how to use it in conjunction with everything else in the process, you’ll make bad whisky. There are plenty of craft distillers putting out bad product.  Shizuoka without reservation have taken the time to learn their craft and they are already putting out some fantastic whisky. It does show alot of the modern style of whisky with the maltiness and light florality and tight cuts that avoid the feints and off notes.