Kaiyo The Unicorn 10 Years (70cl, 46%)

Kaiyo The Unicorn is a Japanese pure malt whisky made from 100% malted barley, bottled at 46% ABV in a 70cl bottle and not chill-filtered. It is part of the Wood Library series, in an edition of 2,460 bottles. It matured for five years in Japanese Mizunara oak before the casks spent three months at sea. It then rested for five more years in old bourbon barrels treated with Wet Char, a technique developed by Kaiyo's master blender, Jeffrey Karlovitch, to strengthen the influence of the wood. The nose opens with cedar and charred oak, then maple and pecan pastry, spiced vanilla cream and cinnamon. The palate moves from buttery caramel and toasted spice to syrupy toffee, candied nuts and baking spice. The finish is toasted oak with honey, nuts and woody spice.