{"id":20760,"date":"2026-05-12T01:43:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T01:43:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/20760\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T01:43:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T01:43:54","slug":"bardstown-bourbon-releases-hokkaido-japanese-mizunara-oak-barrel-finish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/20760\/","title":{"rendered":"Bardstown Bourbon Releases Hokkaido Japanese Mizunara Oak Barrel Finish"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">Bardstown Bourbon Company announced the release of Hokkaido Japanese Mizunara Oak Barrel Finish, the latest small-batch exploration from the brand\u2019s Distillery Reserve.<\/p>\n<p>The limited release continues the promise of boundary-pushing whiskeys crafted through exploratory finishes, extended aging and uncommon blending. Extremely limited in quantity and packaged as 375mL, Hokkaido Mizunara Oak follows the acclaimed series debut Cathedral French Oak, which was featured on CBS\u2019 60 Minutes.<\/p>\n<p>After blending a collection of 9- to 18-year-old aged whiskeys for balance and depth, the custom whiskey blend spent an extraordinary 28 months finishing in six, 66-gallon barrels made of rare Japanese Mizunara oak \u2014 a maturation that reveals the full character of this elusive wood.<\/p>\n<p>The finishing journey began on Bardstown\u2019s distillery grounds in Warehouse H, in a custom room specifically built to accommodate large barrels. This area sees wide temperature swings and rapid extraction, resulting in an increase in proof and strong imprint from the Mizunara Oak. Barrels were then transferred to the center of the first floor of the Warehouse E, one of Bardstown\u2019s largest rickhouses, slowly concentrating the flavors and easing into the correct balance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMizunara oak is unlike anything else in the world,\u201d Dan Callaway, Master Blender, Lofted Spirits, said in a news release. \u201cThe wood\u2019s unpredictable nature demands skill and reverence, but the payoff is extraordinary. This release is a tribute to craftsmanship \u2014 Japanese and American \u2014 meeting at the highest level.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mizunara oak trees, native to the Hokkaido province, grow twisted and slow in Japan\u2019s most remote forests with rich, volcanic soil that imparts notes of spice and umami flavors. Their scarcity and remote locale, along with the technical difficulty of coopering the wood, makes each barrel a feat of true craftsmanship. Just six barrels were used for this release, yielding a whiskey that is rare and complex.<\/p>\n<p>Hokkaido Mizunara Barrel Finish is presented at 109.3 proof (54.65% alc. by volume) and will be available beginning July 11. Distillery Reserve releases are small format 375mL and extremely limited in nature. They\u2019re available exclusively at Bardstown Bourbon\u2019s distillery gift shop and Louisville tasting room for $99.99.<\/p>\n<p>Read more: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fredminnick.com\/2025\/02\/25\/bardstown-bourbon-co-launches-distillery-reserve-series\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Bardstown Bourbon Co. Launches Distillery Reserve Series<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-luminous-vivid-amber-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-b19a9bc7189cef605ae95757dda59f80\">ABOUT BARDSTOWN BOURBON<\/p>\n<p>Bardstown Bourbon combines high quality distillation and spirited hospitality into a modern, authentic bourbon experience unlike any other on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Bardstown Bourbon Co. is working to push the entire industry in a direction that is more innovative, more transparent and more collaborative. Bardstown Bourbon Co. is part of Lofted Spirits, one of the largest American Whiskey distillers in the U.S. For more information visit<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bardstownbourbon.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> BardstownBourbon.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/FredMinnick\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"590\" height=\"242\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Club-Marzipan-Join-Now-Button-590x242.jpg\" alt=\"Club Marzipan Join Now Button\" class=\"wp-image-16832\" style=\"width:463px;height:auto\"  \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bardstown Bourbon Company announced the release of Hokkaido Japanese Mizunara Oak Barrel Finish, the latest small-batch exploration from&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20761,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[16483,16484,16485,16486,16487,16149,153,16488,16489,8,12073,16490,16491,16151,16153,3068,4121],"class_list":{"0":"post-20760","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hokkaido","8":"tag-bardstown","9":"tag-bardstown-bourbon","10":"tag-bardstown-bourbon-company","11":"tag-bourbon","12":"tag-dan-callaway","13":"tag-fred-minnick","14":"tag-hokkaido","15":"tag-hokkaido-japanese-mizunara-oak-barrel-finish","16":"tag-hokkaido-mizunara-oak","17":"tag-japan","18":"tag-kentucky","19":"tag-lofted-spirits","20":"tag-louisville","21":"tag-the-fred-minnick-show","22":"tag-vodka-sucks","23":"tag-whiskey","24":"tag-whisky"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}