Chivas Regal Mizunara Special Edition 12 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky (700ml)

Launched in 2013 as a Japanese exclusive, master blender Colin Scott got the idea for a "culture-specific whisky" after visiting Japan. For this edition, he selected the component grain and malt whiskies – all over 12 years old – then finished part of the blend in Mizunara casks, i.e. Japanese oak. While Suntory’s Yamazaki employs the same, by all reports, this is the first time a Scotch Whisky has been aged in Japanese wood.

Suntory began to experiment with the indigenous oak after the Second World War when supplies of foreign oak were difficult to source. It made a far from ideal vessel, Mizunara's loose grains tended to cause leakage, and also created challenges in terms of timber selection and cooperage. Blenders at the time had few kind words to say about the wood. Decades later, the tree is better understood, and the hints of sandlewood and aloeswood it imparts to whisky are prized.