In the bottle: Intensely fragrant with strong notes of toasted rice, wet hay and a big earthy clay, Zuisenmon starts heavy and then finishes with a nice subtle sweetness that ends up on the side of caramel and vanilla. At 43% the alcohol is it is definitely present; however, it never gets in the way of what comes out of the bottle. (Interestingly, in the glass over ice, there is a real savory black truffle scent, which is something I have never encountered before.)

On the rocks: What first hits the tongue is absolutely intense, and full of that classic Awamori taste (thankfully not black truffle), this note holds steady until a range of earthy clay notes start to surface along with toasted rice that stays to the finish. With 43% alcohol, some of what makes Zuisenmon so amazing gets a bit covered up. The best approach is sip slowly over ice, thereby allowing for a nice range of all that this 10 year bottle has to offer.

Diluted with water:

4:1, As mentioned above, with a little water or just letting the ice melt opens this up allowing some amazing sweetness to come through, along with some toasted rice, caramel, vanilla & cherry which compliments the earthy notes perfectly. 

Enjoy on-the-rocks