Style: Single Malt Japanese Whiskies
Age: 6 years
Proof: 124 (62%)
Region: Hokkaido, Japan

Wolf & Crane, in the heart of LA’s Little Tokyo neighborhood, has spent the past decade building up the largest selection of Japanese whiskies of any bar in the country. The newest addition to their collection is their most exclusive yet – the first-ever single-barrel selection of a Japanese whisky in the US.

After tasting through a handful of samples from individual barrels selected by Mars Distillery, the staff at Wolf & Crane settled on this barrel as its signature whisky. Chosen for its unique character, the whisky sports a custom label designed by artists Kuniharu Yoshida and Jason Pippen depicting a wolf and paper cranes that match the mural painted on the wall at the bar. So is this whisky good enough to warrant its historic status as the first Japanese barrel pick in the US?

Tasting Notes

On the nose, it’s immediately apparent that this is not a standard Japanese single malt. It’s much smokier than most Japanese whiskies, which tend to be very balanced and nuanced. Japanese peat presents quite differently than what Scotch drinkers expect, it’s a sweeter, mesquite-like smoke instead of the briny, medicinal peat that’s present in most Islay whiskies. The aroma of smoke is bolstered by a thick brown sugar sweetness and fresh fruit.

Once sipped, the smokiness becomes part of a mosaic of caramel and baked fruit. Apricot and apple pie combined with a bit of saltiness and a note of black pepper to create a balanced, approachable, yet surprising flavor profile. This whisky has a long, smooth, and satisfying finish. It easily coats the mouth and gives one last fleeting bit of malty sweetness and brown sugar with just a wisp of smoke.

Final Thoughts

This is a whisky that both Mars Distillery and Wolf & Crane should be proud of. It’s a singular flavor profile in the world of Japanese whisky that highlights the playful iconoclasm of the distillery that makes it and the bar that calls it home. The contrast between flavor notes might seem disorienting in this bottle, but somehow everything works together to create a complex and surprising whisky that even the most seasoned single malt snobs can appreciate.