There’s a problem in the whiskey world these days, when it comes to the automatic acceptance by the consumer of practically anything labeled as a “special” or “limited edition” release. Call it a result of rampant price gouging, or the hype cycle that assures whiskey geeks they need to be the first to acquire anything with a whiff of “rarity” to it, but the clear effect has been to incentivize distilleries (and non-distiller producers) to release as many “limited editions” as they can. And really, why wouldn’t they? If the consumer is willing to pay twice as much as they usually would for almost the same liquid, for a “limited” release, then it makes all the economic sense in the world to keep a steady flow of limited releases coming. They make money.
Traditionally, one would expect those limited releases to justify their higher price tags by pointing to the contents of the bottle. You’re expecting “rare” whiskeys to be involved in a limited release blend, or novel finishes where the consumer can rationalize “well, I’m paying for the novelty/price of a sauternes cask finish,” etc. But as the culture of limited edition releases has continued to expand unabated, it often feels like companies are barely even trying to make those limited releases seem truly unique or special. There are many potential offenders here, but I couldn’t help but feel this sentiment particularly strongly looking at the latest limited release from Kentucky Owl, Takumi Edition Bourbon.
Granted, I felt much the same about the previous, seemingly cynical St. Patrick’s Limited Edition Bourbon, and I said so at the time. That release jumped through some mental hoops in order to somehow make Kentucky bourbon an appropriate sentiment for St. Patrick’s Day, with the only tie to Ireland being the presence of an Irish blender. And with Takumi Edition, the Stoli company has done the same thing, while simply swapping in Japanese theming. And in my opinion, it’s all a bit too much. It’s not really a problem with the liquid in the bottle—though the value of that liquid is very questionable. It’s a problem with conceiving a Japanese-themed special release, but then doing the smallest amount possible to make it “special.”
Japan is a nation with a long heritage and tradition of whiskey distilling and aging, largely informed by the traditions and practices of the scotch whisky industry. But they also do have a taste for American bourbon, as whiskey geek visitors to Japan will know—the country is known among American bourbon geeks for having access to additional varieties of Buffalo Trace’s Blanton’s, for instance, and they also continued to have access to real Kentucky bourbon from Four Roses during the dark period when the brand’s American product had devolved into a shadow of its former self. So an American-Japanese bourbon collaboration does make some cultural sense. But you expect the impact of that collaboration to be more creative than what one sees in the Takumi Edition (it means “artisan”) bottle, especially with an MSRP of $150.
What we have here is a blend of 4-, 5-, 6- and 13-year-old Kentucky straight bourbons, coming from a variety of mashbills that include corn, rye, wheat and malted barley. The blend represents a collaboration between Kentucky Owl Master Blender John Rhea, and Yusuke Yahisa of Japanese distillery Nagahama, who made at least the initial steps of blending. The product was then bottled at 50% ABV (100 proof), with the previously stated $150 MSRP. It’s currently available for online pre-orders.
Is it nice to involve a distiller/blender from a Japanese distillery? Sure. Absolutely. If you’re going to do a Japanese-themed release, it’s certainly a good idea. But why stop there, and still release a product that is simply a blend of Kentucky bourbons, when there are so many other options to make a more genuine international collaboration? Why not incorporate actual Japanese-made spirit, whether that’s malt whisky or Japanese-made, bourbon-style whiskey? If not using Japanese spirits, why not give the liquid a second maturation of some kind in Japan? You could infuse it with umeshu, the traditional Japanese plum wine. You could bring in some influence from coveted Japanese mizunara oak. There’s so many options potentially available.