Founded in 2016 by whisky importer, Gaia Flow, the Shizuoka Distillery is one of Japanese whisky’s fastest rising stars. It sits in an idyllic location high in the Japanese mountains in the Tamagawa district of Shizuoka, not far from the famous Mt. Fuji itself, and their liquid encapsulates the peaceful surroundings through its fresh, crisp and refreshing notes.

Shizuoka Distillery has several unique features that distinguish it from the crowd, most notably two very special still types. The first, named the ‘K’ still, was purchased at an auction by distillery founder Taiko Nakamura and it had originally been used at the old Karuizawa Distillery to create some of Japan’s most legendary whisky expressions. The second still, named the ‘W’ still, is wood-fired and built to spec for the distillery – the first of its kind in Japan.

Using these two special stills allows Shizuoka to create a variety of delicious new-makes that exhibit their own unique characteristics which can then be built on throughout the maturation process, resulting in an array of very impressive releases. Shizuoka’s releases are generally titled, “K”, “W” or “S”, referring to the still that was used to produce them, with the “S” releases being a combination of both.

Now into their 9th year of production, the distillery has won multiple awards at prestigious competitions around the world and they are going from strength to strength. 

The Shizuoka Contact S

Of all of the releases since their inception, it’s the Contact S that has made the biggest impression on me. 

It was created using a combination of Japanese barley, Scottish peated and unpeated barley and German beer malt which was then distilled separately in both the ‘K’ and ‘W’ stills, before being blended together and placed into casks for maturation. 

Both first-fill bourbon barrels and quarter casks were used, before another vatting took place, bringing the whole thing together in a harmonious fashion. 

When new-make is placed into a quarter cask, it tends to mature faster as the liquid comes into more regular contact with the wood, allowing it to extract the beautiful notes from the cask at a quicker rate than with larger casks. The use of quarter cask whisky in the Contact S has added a real depth of flavour and richness to the dram that you would not generally find in a young whisky.

This richness combines perfectly with the more citrussy, light notes imparted by the first-fill bourbon barrel, resulting in a balance and complexity that is hard to rival.

On the Nose

It brings gentle toasted oak, sweet honey and sticky dates, that is then cut through by subtle citrus notes and backed up by a lingering whiff of peat smoke. 

On the Palate

A beautiful creamy mouthfeel is immediately apparent and it initially delivers sweet notes of freshly sliced apples and vanilla, before making way for an altogether richer experience with dark chocolate, sticky toffee and more of that building smoke being the stars of the show.

The Finish

Medium length, with notable woody spices lingering for some time along with more hints of that smokiness and gentle vanilla.

Conclusion

Overall it’s a well-rounded, excellent tasting experience that will have you coming back for another dram or buying another bottle before long, that’s if you can find one. With only 5,000 bottles released in November 2019, far fewer remain on the market today, making it somewhat collectible. 

However, if you do manage to get your hands on a bottle (we have some in stock right now at dekanta), we’d implore you to drink it rather than treating it like an investment and locking it away in a cupboard – it’s simply too good to be left unopened. 

In celebration of this rising star in Japan’s new wave of distillers, for a limited time only, enjoy 10% off using code SHIZUOKA10.

To browse the collection, click here.

To read more about the Shizuoka Distillery, click here.