New Releases from India, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland, and Ireland

This week we've seen a fair few imported whisky releases from countries other than Scotland and Ireland. India's Paul John brings us early holiday cheer with its 2023 Christmas Edition, fairly tiny at just 1,500 bottles but available in a wide variety of states. India's whiskies have scored remarkably well in our Buying Guide: of the more than 60 Indian releases we've tasted over the years, 10 have scored 94 points, and the vast majority have received scores of 90 points or more. The strong suit there is single malt, and if the volumes can begin to climb in this market, India has the quality to become a player in the single malt scene. From Japan, we have three expressions from Shizuoka, all made from barley grown in Japan—a rare thing, because Japanese farmers don't produce much of it. The availability is accordingly a bit sparse, but Shizuoka's previous releases have also passed the 90-point mark with our tasters. And from New Zealand comes Pokeno, which is just getting started on our shores, though its earlier Pokeno Discovery release scored nicely at 91 points.

From Ireland, Old Oak brings the star power of actor Jean-Claude Van Damm with two releases—one a 3 year old blend and the other a 5 year old blend finished in Jamaican rum casks, at the very non-Hollywood prices of $40 and $50. And our Collectibles include an ultra-aged Teeling and the details on a two-bottle set from Ardbeg of whiskies from the 1980s, news of which Whisky Advocate broke last week. As for the pricing on that one, as the saying goes, if you have to ask, you can't afford it. Read on.

Paul John Christmas Edition 2023
Style: Single malt
Origin: India
Age: Not stated
ABV: 46%
Price: $85
Release: November 2023
Availability: 1,500 bottles for the U.S.; available in 30 states, with greatest availability in CA, FL, IL, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA, TX.

Need to know:
The 6th edition of the Paul John Christmas is an unpeated Indian single malt initially matured in bourbon casks and finished in a single vintage colheita tawny port cask.

Whisky Advocate says:
Paul P. John is an entrepreneur, businessman, and single malt whisky aficionado who established one of the largest alcohol beverage companies in India with a broad portfolio of wine and spirit brands, and a hospitality business running a number of luxury resort hotels. Paul John’s single malts are now exported to 45 countries and were first imported into the U.S. market in 2016. The whiskies are made with six-row Indian barley grown in the foothills of the Himalayas in the north, and distilled in its malt whisky distillery in Goa on India’s west coast. We last reviewed Paul John Christmas when the 2021 Edition was released, which was finished in port and madeira casks and scored 91 points.

Shizuoka Pot Still W 100% Japanese Barley First Edition
Style: Single malt
Origin: Japan
Age: Not stated
ABV: 55.5%
Price: $355
Release: November
Availability: Limited; 300 bottles for the U.S.

Shizuoka Pot Still K 100% Imported Barley First Edition
Style: Single malt
Origin: Japan
Age: Not stated
ABV: 55.5%
Price: $260
Release: November
Availability: Limited; 330 bottles for the U.S.

Shizuoka United S
Style: Single malt
Origin: Japan
Age: Not stated
ABV: 50.5%
Price: $190
Release: November
Availability: Limited; 330 bottles

Need to know:
Three new releases have arrived from Shizuoka Distillery, the distillery founded by Taiko Nakamura in 2016, with the key detail being a switch of malted barley sources and wash still combinations from last year. This year, pot still W—its 5,000L direct wood-fired still—was used to distill the 100% Japanese barley edition, while pot still K—a 3,500L steam-heated wash still formerly used at Karuizawa—was used to make the batch made from Scottish malted barley. The United S whisky is a blend of distillates from both wash stills with a core of Japanese malted barley, but also including distillates made from unpeated Scottish malt, peated Scottish malt, and brewer’s malt. The whisky was matured in first-fill bourbon barrels and wine casks.

Whisky Advocate says:
Japan is not a major barley-producing nation, so the low yield from Japanese barley makes it more expensive to use for whisky production than imported malt, which is what the majority of Japanese malt whisky distilleries use. Currently, Shizuoka is the only whisky on sale in the U.S. specifying 100% Japanese barley, and they have been using it to make single malt from the outset. Last year’s Japanese barley expression (distilled in the K still) scored 91 points, whereas the W still batch made with imported barley scored 92 points. We’re looking forward to assessing if switching the Japanese barley to the W still will make for a winning combination.

Old Oak 3 year old
Style: Blend
Origin: Ireland
Age: 3 year old
ABV: 40%
Price: $40
Release: November
Availability: Widely available

Old Oak 5 year old Jamaican Rum Reserve
Style: Blend
Origin: Ireland
Age: 5 year old
ABV: 40%
Price: $50
Release: November
Availability: Widely available

Need to know:
These are both sourced triple-distilled blended Irish whiskeys. The 5 year old has been finished in Jamaican rum casks.

Whisky Advocate says:
Old Oak Whiskey is a non-distiller producer based in Northern Ireland, which launched in 2023 in partnership with action-hero actor Jean-Claude Van Damme. He had been considering the idea of investing in bourbon but was persuaded to look for an Irish whiskey brand instead. Old Oak joins a growing roster of Irish whiskey brands with celebrity associations including Sláinte (Liev Schreiber), Proper No. Twelve (Conor Mcgregor), The Pogues, Grey Coast (Graeme McDowell), and Irish-American whiskey brand Four Walls (Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton, and Charlie Day).

Oran Blend No. 1
Style: Blend
Origin: Scotland
Age: Not stated
ABV: 50%
Price: $189
Release: November
Availability: 465 bottles; California, New Jersey, New York, and online at theperfectfifth.com starting this month.

Need to know:
Oran’s very first blend is comprised of 50% single malt scotch and 50% single grain scotch, all aged exclusively in bourbon barrels. A total of 11 casks were used to make this inaugural batch.

Oran Blend No. 2
Style: Blend
Origin: Scotland
Age: Not stated
ABV: 50%
Price: $189
Release: November
Availability: 465 bottles; California, New Jersey, New York, and online at theperfectfifth.com starting this month.

Need to know:
Like Blend No. 1, this is half single malt, half single grain whisky, coming from a total of 11 casks. Unlike Blend No. 1, however, some of the whiskies within this one were aged or finished in sherry casks, giving it a sherried component.

Whisky Advocate says:
Oran means “song” in Gaelic, pointing to how blends of grain and malt layer flavors much like melodies and harmonies layer music. While Oran falls under the umbrella of The Perfect Fifth, an independent scotch bottler based in the U.S., it was blended by whisky author Jim Murray, best known for his “Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible”. Murray has plenty of blending experience, having served behind the scenes at a smattering of distilleries as a consultant blender, but Oran marks his first time officially taking on the blender title.

Pōkeno Exploration Series No.01 Totara Cask
Style: Single malt
Origin: New Zealand
Age: Not stated
ABV: 46%
Price: $150
Release: November
Availability: Limited; 402 bottles for the U.S.

Pōkeno Exploration Series No.02 Winter Malt
Style: Single malt
Origin: New Zealand
Age: Not stated
ABV: 48%
Price: $100
Release: November
Availability: Limited; 900 bottles for the U.S.

Pōkeno Exploration Series No.03 Triple Distilled
Style: Single malt
Origin: New Zealand
Age: Not stated
ABV: 49%
Price: $100
Release: November
Availability: Limited; 900 bottles for the U.S.

Need to know:
This trio of experimental single malts from New Zealand showcases Pōkeno’s innovative approach to whisky making. Exploration Series No.01 was fully matured in first-fill bourbon casks, and then given a second maturation in 200-liter light toast/light char tōtara barrels. Exploration Series No.02 was aged in first-fill bourbon casks and created from a mixed mashbill of manuka-smoked malt, chocolate roasted malt, toffee malt, and traditional distilling malt made from the Laureate variety of barley. Exploration Series No.03 was triple-distilled, using a slow distillation method to maximize reflux to capture the heart, just 20% of the spirit run, for a third distillation which concentrates the alcohol and the associated lighter, fruity flavors.

Whisky Advocate says:
Pōkeno reports that this is the first time tōtara, an indigenous tree to New Zealand, has been used by a cooper to create casks for maturing whisky. The wood is hard and straight-grained, and gives sweet and creamy notes when toasted. The Māori used tōtara for building waka (traditional canoes), houses, carvings, and weapons. They are also claiming the first use of manuka-smoked malt in whisky, which is created using another indigenous species, mānuka, to produce a smooth, sweet smokiness in the malt. As a distillery with only two stills, Pōkeno met the challenge of creating a triple-distilled single malt in a similar fashion to Benriach Distillery: using the spirit still twice to complete the second and third distillations.

Collectible

Ardbeg The Rollercoaster

Ardbeg Rare Cask 1981
Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Islay)
Age: 42 year old
ABV: 47.3%
Price: €100,000 (approx. $107,000 as part of two bottle set)
Release: November

Ardbeg Rare Cask 1989
Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Islay)
Age: 33 year old
ABV: 45.3%
Price: €100,000 (approx. $107,000 as part of two-bottle set)
Release: November
Availability: Global release of 143 sets offered through the Moët Hennessy Private Client channel. Collectors and connoisseurs can register their interest to purchase via ardbeg.com or enquire at the distillery visitor center.

Need to know:
These are two single cask whiskies drawn from some of the last stocks from Ardbeg’s “rollercoaster” decade when the distillery’s survival was in peril. The two whiskies bookend an eight-year period when the distillery was silent due to the global downturn in scotch. Ardbeg Rare Cask 1981 was distilled just two weeks before the distillery closed. It uses a blend of heavily peated malt (up to 110 ppm) malted at the distillery when it operated its own malting floors, blended with unpeated malt to create a lightly peated spirit known as a “Kildalton-style” Ardbeg. This was aged in bourbon casks and re-barreled into a single refill oloroso sherry cask in 2006. Ardbeg Rare Cask 1989 was distilled a few weeks after the distillery reopened and was made from malt peated to 30–35 ppm at Port Ellen Maltings when Ardbeg stock was destined for blending (today, the minimum is 50 ppm). It was initially matured in bourbon casks and re-barreled into a refill bourbon cask in 1999.

Whisky Advocate says:
Peated scotch lovers around the world hold Ardbeg in high regard, but its continuing existence has not always been so certain. We explored Ardbeg’s travails of the 1980s in a story we posted last week.

Teeling Very Rare Casks 33 year old Pineau des Charentes Finish
Style: Single malt
Origin: Ireland
Age: 33 year old
ABV: 49.7%
Price: $3,699
Release: November 2023
Availability: 316 bottles for the U.S.

Need to know:
Teeling Whiskey is releasing the next expression in their Very Rare Casks series, a 33 year old single malt distilled at Cooley Distillery and finished in Pineau des Charentes casks.

Whisky Advocate says:
This series began with the release of the 93 point Teeling Very Rare Casks 32 year old Purple Muscat Finish in 2022. Master distiller Alex Chasko has a history with Irish single malt Pineau des Charentes finishing, using it for the third expression in Teeling’s Revival Series and the fourth release of Teeling's Renaissance Series. We could be on the cusp of a microtrend for Pineau des Charentes finishing, as we’ve seen it rolled out increasingly in the last year or two, such as on the 92 point Old Pulteney Coastal Series Pineau des Charentes, the 90 point Villa No. 16 French whisky, the 90 point Talnua Olde Saint’s Keep (2022 release), and Balvenie 16 year old French Oak.