Ikikko Koji Whisky: Barley Shochu Technique, Eight Years in Oloroso

This is a whisky made the way barley shochu is made, and then aged the way sherried Scotch is aged.

Iki Island

Iki sits in the sea between Nagasaki and Fukuoka, and it grows both barley and rice well.

That combination is why the island became the home of barley shochu, Iki shochu is a protected designation, and the local grain bill has traditionally been about one-third koji rice to two-thirds barley.

Ikinokura Distillery was established there in 1984, formed by merging six smaller distilleries.

How It's Made

The grain bill is the island's, not a whisky maker's: two-thirds unmalted barley, one-third white koji rice.

The white koji rice is fermented for 40 hours, then barley and koji rice ferment together for two to three weeks, parallel multiple fermentation, the technique that defines sake and shochu and has no equivalent in Scotch production.

Then a single distillation in a stainless steel pot still, which is shochu practice rather than whisky practice.

The Aging

Minimum eight years in ex-Oloroso sherry casks.

This is where it turns back toward whisky. Oloroso is the dry, nutty, savory sherry, and eight years in those casks brings dried fruit and nuts.

The koji is what makes the combination unusual. Koji fermentation produces a distinct umami thread, and it turns out that umami and Oloroso's savory nuttiness reinforce each other rather than clash.

What's in the Glass

Nose: Caramel, sultana raisin, dried cherry, dried mushroom

Palate: Warm and oak-driven — marshmallow, toasted almond, apricot, pink peppercorn

Bottled at 42%, non-chill filtered, no added colouring.

The dried mushroom note is the koji making itself known, and it's the thing that tells you this isn't a Scotch.

How to Drink It

Neat. A drop of water if you want, but no more.

Pair It With

Savory and umami-heavy. Miso bacon, pork kakuni, tonsouku, unagi don.

Try It at Juraku

Ikikko Koji Whisky is part of the whisky list at Izakaya Juraku, Lower East Side. Stock moves on this one, ask whether it's in before you plan around it.