Time for a world whisky again and this week I look at the Kamiki blended malt whisky. I tasted this interesting expression last year at Bottega Cafe in Parkhurst, where Savi has an fantastic variety of whisky.
Kamiki is a blended malt whisky that combines Japanese malt whiskies with specially selected malt whisky from around the world. After blending, the Kamiki whisky is cut with Japanese spring water and then finished in casks made from Japanese cedar wood.
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Japanse Cedar or Yoshino Sugi trees are indigenous to Japan and grow at the base of Mount Miwa. These trees are well known as a particularly aromatic type of wood.
The brand website states that Kamiki is the first whisky ever to enjoy a cedar cask finish. According to the experts, the aromatic wood is difficult to handle but imparts immense depth to the final liquid.
The word Kamiki roughly translates as ‘God’s breath’ and is named after the winds that descend from Mount Miwa in Nara. Kamiki blended malt whisky was bottled at cask strength and is non-chill-filtered and has no age statement.
Kamiki Blended Malt Whisky Review
ABV:48.5%
COLOUR: Rich Gold with hints of red
NOSE: Fruity sweetness and caramel with red berries with lashings of dry wood. Faint spicy hints with smoke. Not a very complex nose and there is a bit of alcohol burn.
PALATE: Tobacco and white pepper with caramel sweetness and raw wood. It is like standing in a carpenters workshop while they are sanding, and the wood dust burns your eyes and throat. The first bit of wood is warming, but then it quickly becomes overwhelming. Light fruity notes with cinnamon.
Many people commented that the Kamiki has some peaty notes, but neither John nor I picked up any peat. It needs a bit of water to tone down the alcohol burn. Water brings more fruity sweetness to the forefront. However, the whisky is a bit one dimensional with not a lot of depth.
FINISH: Medium length and end in notes of pepper and wood.
RATING: GOOD
I was expecting a bit more from this blended malt. The spice and woody notes quickly become overbearing and drown out any of the other, more subtle notes. My personal view; the cedar wood makes for a clever marketing angle.
However, the impact of the cedar wood finish drowns out of anything else. I also suspect that there are a few rather young malts in the blend, as some of the alcohol has distinct raw notes.
The Kamiki whisky retails for around R800 in SA and is only available in a 500ml bottle. You can find out more about Savi’s Bottega Whisky Club and see what other interesting releases he has.
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