News Briefs for January 8, 2024
January 8, 2024•Mizunara casks have been a staple of Japanese whisky aging for quite some time, but it wasn’t always this way. The much-revered mizunara oak got its start out of necessity rather than design. In the early days of Japanese whisky making back in the 1920s, first-fill Bourbon and Sherry casks were the barrels of choice. But that changed during World War II, when it became all but impossible to obtain those barrel types. Left with no other choice, Japan’s whisky distillers looked to native oak for their casks. Now, nearly a century later, it’s the American and European distillers who seek out mizunara oak casks from Japan, enthralled by the notes and characteristics that it can contribute to a whisky. Whisky Advocate has the full story.
•El Salvador-based Cihuatán rum is launching a new Artesano expression. Part of the brand’s core offering, the newcomer is a 10-year-aged pineapple rum matured in ex-Bourbon barrels, and is geared toward the mixology segment. The suggested retail price for the new product, which is made with golden pineapples from the small town of Santa María Ostuma in El Salvador, is $33 a bottle. Cihuatán Artesano will be available in 20 states across the U.S., imported by Stoller Imports.
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