Review #165: Sato Shiki 21yr Single Grain Whisky

COUNTRY: Japan

MASH BILL: 88% Koshihikari rice, 12% malted barley

PROOF: 80

AGE: 21 years

COST: MSRP is $300 for 750mL bottle (I’m reviewing a sample from Prime Barrel)

I recently participated in a Japanese whisky tasting put on by The Prime Barrel featuring some high age Sato Shiki whiskies, including this 21 year single grain whisky. Japan is funny in that a “single grain whisky” can contain…more than one grain… Essentially, it’s like the malted grains don’t count. If the mash bill contains only 1 grain other than the malted barley, then it can be called a single grain whisky. If it contains only malted barley, then it can be called a single malt whisky. If it contains more than a single grain other than malted barley, then it’s just a Japanese whisky…unless it uses the Koji fermentation method…then it’s not allowed to be called a Japanese whisky in Japan, but instead is called Shochu. In the USA, however, Shochu can still be classified as Japanese whisky though… It’s probably really not that confusing, it’s just new to me and seems funny (lets be real though bourbon vs corn whiskey in the US is funny too when you think about it, so whatever). I digress.

Sato Shiki pride themselves on being 100% authentic Japanese whisky. All the grains they use are locally grown at Makino Farms, who Sato Shiki has been working with exclusively for decades. They also exclusively use barrels produced from the Ariake Sangyo Cooperage located about 30 minutes from the distillery (though the cooperage does use international woods not native to Japan as we’ll talk about in a minute). Sato Shiki also uses a Sato still which is a uniquely Japanese still design considering it’s the only one in the world.

The Sato still was designed in 1989 and is described as resembling a beehive inside with a labyrinth of pipes and plates. (As an engineer, this makes me think it probably looks like a tube and shell heat exchanger with a bunch of small tubes that run through the still and tube plates but probably making a bunch of turns to help slow down the flow.) The design essentially creates a torturous path for the vapor to flow through which slows it down and allows more precise cuts to be made. This provides the distiller more control to remove the more undesirable heads and tails and really hone in on the hearts of the distillation and provide a cleaner more desirable whisky.

The Sato Shiki 21 yr single grain whisky is triple cask aged. The whisky is aged in casks made of American white oak, Spanish oak, and Limousin (French) oak. The whisky in each cask type is aged independently for a minimum of 21 years and then blended together for the final product. Sato Shiki’s master distiller mentioned to us that the blend for the 21 year expression contains a higher weight of American white oak aged whisky whereas the 41 year expression contains a higher weight of the Limousin oak and Spanish oak aged whisky.

Alright, so what does all this mean for the whisky? Well…let’s find out!

Reviewed neat in a Glencairn.

APPEARANCE: A pale gold color (0.5), syrupy looking with thin quick legs at first but a brilliant ring of tiny beads that cling to the glass and slowly coalesce to form slow, tear drop legs.

NOSE: This has a pretty light nose with subtle notes of sweet tapioca, raisins, and light vanillin oak. A touch of lemon peel and a minty note makes it a bit refreshing as well.

PALATE: This has a very clean profile with faint notes of vanilla custard and a mild nuttiness that leads off. White raisins drizzled with honey and a buttery chardonnay note shows up mid-palate. A very mild sweet oak note begins to show up just as it starts transitioning to the finish. The mouthfeel is rather pillowy for 80 proof.

FINISH: The finish is long and really shows more complexity than the nose or palate which I find quite intriguing and unique. That sweet oak note from the palate really leans in at the start and a light lemon peel and vanilla start to show up as well. As the lemon note fades, a light spice replaces it making me think of a sort of minty licorice note. It’s not like a deep dark licorice note though, it keeps brevity like the rest of this sip. As this fades away on the palate it becomes more tannic, though I would still mostly describe this finish as on the sweeter side.

RATING: 7.5/10

OVERALL: This is surprisingly clean and simple. I guess that Sato still they use really does let them create a clean whisky! For 21 years old, I was expecting significantly more oak notes, barrel character, and tannic profile throughout this dram. However, the typical wood notes I associate with age were practically non-existent on the nose and palate but did make a showing in the finish. It’s honestly hard to hate it with how clean and simple it is. But I am partial to bold, deep, rich flavors, so it leaves me personally wishing it had something more (standby for the Sato Shiki 41yr review…). The finish was one of the more complex finishes I’ve experienced for a whisky. It’s rare that I find a finish that continues to evolve like this one did with entirely new notes that weren’t showing up elsewhere. Overall this was really enjoyable, I just personally wish it had a bit more going on.

 

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I’d rather have

5 | Good | Good, just fine

6 | Very Good | A cut above

7 | Great | Well above average

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite

10 | Perfect | Perfect