Nine Leaves 7 years 2018 Single Cask Ex-Spanish Oak

This Nine Leaves 7 Years 2018 Single Cask Ex-Spanish Oak is made from kokuto, distilled in a pot still, and aged for 7 years in a unique Spanish oak barrel. It was bottled at 59% ABV.
Nose: Fine, light, with fresh fruit, sugarcane blossom, and spices.
Palate: Elegant, fruity, vegetal, evolving towards sugarcane syrup.
Finish: Delicate, long, honeyed, and mentholated.


About Nine Leaves:
Nine Leaves Distillery, a microdistillery founded by Yoshiharu Takeuchi in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, near Kyoto, on the shores of Lake Biwa, opened in 2013 after two years of construction. Takeuchi San is a descendant of a prominent family. The symbol on his rum labels is the family crest, consisting of nine bamboo leaves, hence the name "Nine Leaves." To fully dedicate himself to rum, Yoshiharu Takeuchi left the leadership of the family business that was a supplier to Toyota. For years, he was the sole employee, staff member, and manager at Nine Leaves: from taking orders to stocking the barrels in the warehouse, from fermentation to distillation, from filling the barrels to applying the labels: he did it all. No one else ever came to his distillery to do the work. After his father's death, he decided to take over the family car dealership, thus ending the Nine Leaves project.


Production Method:
The distillery's water comes from a spring in an old, abandoned mine. For fermentation, Yoshiharu Takeuchi uses a special yeast strain that is rarely used. Distillation is discontinuous and takes place in two stages in two stills built by Scottish Forsyths. The rum is aged in the unique Otsu Highlands, where it is warm in summer and cold in winter.