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Name: 瑞牆山7年 Mizugakiyama 7yr Oak
Type: 米焼酎 Rice shōchū

Rice: 米（はなかぐら） 
Ingredients: 米、米麹（国内産） Rice, Rice Koji (Domestic)
Alcohol: 35%
Distillery: 武の井酒造 Takenoi Shuzō
​Address: 1450 Takanecho Minowa, Hokuto, Yamanashi 408-0012, Japan
Website: http://takenoishuzo.jp/products.html

Additional Content: None that I can find at this moment

In the bottle: Beautiful oak notes flow perfectly into a harmony cherry, cream soda and vanilla; this is certainly one of my favorite combinations and often found with oak aged rice shochu. Unfortunately, I could find any other information other than that Mizugakiyama is stored for 7 years in oak barrels; however, it certainly feel like they were filled previously with brandy or cognac. (Reminds me a lot of Ohishi, just not as strong) 

On the rocks: Just like the nose, this is something to enjoy and enjoy slowly. The oak on the front end balances perfectly with a cherry, vanilla, and cream soda notes; in many ways this drinks a bit like a whiskey due to the depth and complexity gained by the 7 years in oak. At 35% alcohol it seems like it should be a bit heavy and sharp on the palate; however, what you end up with is so smooth  

Straight: This drinks a lot like a whiskey with the addition of a touch of sweetness that hits the tongue and adds an additional layer of complexity to the overall profile. Overall, this is smooth, and a little creamy as those cherry and cream soda notes really take center stage, maybe it's the cooler weather, but I really prefer this neat in a nice whiskey glass 

Enjoy straight or on-the-rocks

Reflections on this shōchū

  • Oak-aged rice shochu continues to be one of my favorite variations of or rice shochu and Mizugakiyama does not disappoint, it hits all the right notes while never being too oak heavy.

  • This bottle was a real random find, as I came across it at a local goods shop at Nirasaki station, they had two different bottles and chose this one based on the label alone (worked out well).

  • The only issue with this bottle is finding any real information on it, the brewery website just gives the name and nothing about it, after some searching I could at least find a little about how it was aged. 

  • While I enjoyed this on-the-rocks, I ended up switching to drinking this neat as it just drank more like a whiskey, which is something I should try more often.

Bottle label and Information

Front Label

Back Label

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