Nagahama – Amahagan World Malt Edition KOVAL (70cl, 47%)

This is the Amahagan World Malt Edition KOVAL, a Japanese blended malt from Nagahama Distillery, bottled at 47%. It began as the original World Malt Whisky Edition 1, which was then aged for a further two years and three months in casks that had previously held whisky from Koval Distillery in Chicago. Nagahama acquired a batch of these casks to explore how different casks change flavour. Koval, founded in 2008, works with grains such as rye, wheat, oat and millet. The nose has sweet and sour tropical fruit, pineapple and mango, with a cotton candy sweetness later on. The palate is smooth and lively, with pineapple, sweet grain and green apple. The finish is medium in length, slightly dry with a touch of spice.