The Yoichi Distillery on the island of Hokkaido, Japan, is the northernmost distillery in that country. Its climate is comparable to the northern Highlands of Scotland, where in winter it can get incredibly cold. Apart from that, Yoichi is one of the few distilleries in Japan that uses a significant amount of peat in their whiskies. Not that it gets to a level op Ardbeg or Lagavulin, but it is quite noticeable, like Clynelish, Highland Park and Ardmore.

The most important thing that sets Yoichi apart from the rest of the world is that they are the only distillery left (to my knowledge) that still uses coal to fire the stills instead of indirect heating or steam heating. Coal heating was used in Scotland until about 10 years ago, but most of the distilleries switched during major renovations in the 60’s and 70’s. Coal firing the stills in a distillery gives a much more rugged pattern of heating since it has more highs and lows in temperature (opening the furnace to refill cools it down, a full furnace burns at a much higher temperature than an almost empty one, and so on). This results in a very unique flavour profile.

Nose:
Peaty and smoky, quite fruity with citrus and summer fruit and vanilla. It tastes quite crisp, all together. After a while, the taste evolves more in a direction of ash and tar. Quite complex!

Taste:
The mouthfeel of the Yoichi 10 is quite creamy but also pretty fierce with lots of pepper. There is some drying wood influence as well. A lot less fruity than the nose made you expect.

Finish:
Now it gets more smoky again, and the taste lingers for quite a while.

A bit of a strange one, this is. I usually am quite fond of Yoichi and have not tasted many that would get below 5 stars or at least high up in the four star ratings. This one is the least impressive I have tasted thus far, maybe because it is the youngest? Most Yoichi’s, like the single casks and the vintage editions are botteld around 18 to 20 years of age and in my opinion that is the best age for Yoichi. This one needs a bit more time in the cask.

Yoichi 10, 45%, Available from most specialist retailers between € 50 and € 70.

Nose: 8
Taste: 8
Finish: 7
Overal experience: 7
Price/quality: 0

Total: 30 points