Kura Pure Malt Japanese Whisky

The Helios name has been a mainstay on the island of Okinawa since at least the 15th Century, first as renowned brewers and also as distillers. While for centuries their specialty has been traditional schochus, they have more recently begun making expertly crafted rums from local sugar cane and whiskies from malted barley. Produced in very small quantities for now, Kura combines peated malt whisky using extremely rare peat from the northern island of Hokkaido that is similiar in nature to peat found on the islands of Scotland, and unpeated malt both aged in American Oak before being finished in local rum casks that held rum for over 20yrs first. On last tasting we found the whisky to be nuanced and focused overwhelmingly on balance. The flavors reminded us of dried seaweed, fresh pears and almond, banana toffee and toasted spices.