Matsui The Peated Japanese Whisky
Matsui The Peated Japanese Whisky is Kurayoshi Distillery's smoky statement: peated malted barley, pot distilled, matured in white oak bourbon casks, and bottled at 48% ABV (700mL). The label wears Katsushika Hokusai's The Great Wave — chosen to match the whisky's force — and the liquid inside is Matsui's premium single-malt line at full strength. Order it online at Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.
- ABV: 48% (96 proof) — 700mL, NAS
- Malt: peated malted barley, pot distilled at Kurayoshi
- Cask: matured in white oak bourbon casks; proofed with Mount Daisen spring water
- Origin: Kurayoshi Distillery, Tottori, Japan
- Label: Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa, representing the whisky's power
Smoke Meets The Great Wave
Most of Matsui's range plays in orchard fruit and vanilla; The Peated goes the other way — earthy peat and ashy smoke wrapped around the distillery's toasty, bourbon-cask malt character. It's part of "The Matsui" premium single-malt line, the distillery's genuinely in-house whisky (distillation at Kurayoshi began in 2017), and the Hokusai label isn't decoration: the wave was chosen as the image of the whisky's force. See more from Matsui or browse Japanese whisky.
Tasting Notes
Fresh toasty malted cereal, earthy peat, swirls of smoke, and a touch of vanilla oak on the nose; a palate of toasty oak, brown sugar, creamy vanilla, and orchard fruit enveloped by ashy smoke, with herbaceous peat and a minty-licorice touch; peat smoke and fresh apple linger on a moderately oily finish (per trade reviews).
How to Enjoy
Neat, with time — the smoke opens into orchard fruit after a few minutes in the glass. A teaspoon of water softens the ash and lifts the vanilla; peat lovers can also build a smoky Highball with soda and lemon peel.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Matsui The Peated a single malt?
Trade sources classify it in Matsui's "The Matsui" premium single-malt line — peated malted barley, pot distilled and matured in bourbon casks at Kurayoshi Distillery.
Why is there a wave on the label?
It's Katsushika Hokusai's The Great Wave, chosen by the distillery to represent the spirit and force of this smoky whisky.
How smoky is it?
Earthy and ashy rather than medicinal — peat smoke frames toasty malt, brown sugar, and orchard fruit rather than dominating them.
Peated Japanese whisky under Hokusai's wave — order Matsui The Peated online at Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.