Mizunara is a Japanese oak that grows slowly and is famously difficult to turn into casks. Whisky makers from Japan and Scotland treasure it for the sandalwood and incense-like aromas it can give a whisky over many years.
At ZEN, a luxury dining and bar lounge on the 3rd floor above Kyoto's Nishiki Market, your English-speaking bartender pours three whiskies at the bar counter that show how Mizunara shapes flavor:
1. A Scotch blend finished in Mizunara: a light first taste of the oak's aroma.
2. An 18-year-old Scotch blend finished in Mizunara: longer aging meets Japanese oak.
3. A Japanese single malt matured in Mizunara, at cask strength: the star of the flight, bottled without added water. Add a few drops of water yourself and watch the aroma open up.
Compare a whisky that only touched Mizunara at the end with one that spent its life in it, and find out why this oak is called the jewel of Japanese whisky.
The entrance is on Takakura-dori street, NOT inside Nishiki Market (there is no entrance from the market side). On Takakura-dori, find the building with Sugi Pharmacy on the ground floor and take the elevator to the 3rd floor (ZEN Kyoto). Tell our staff you booked the Mizunara whisky tasting.
The entrance is on Takakura-dori street, NOT inside Nishiki Market (there is no entrance from the market side). On Takakura-dori, find the building with Sugi Pharmacy on the ground floor and take the elevator to the 3rd floor (ZEN Kyoto). Tell our staff you booked the Mizunara whisky tasting.
