For centuries the art of making malt whisky has begun with barley. This essential raw ingredient is first malted through a careful process of germination. Then everything comes to a standstill as the barley is slowly dried over a peat fire to yield what distillers call Peated malt.
In Scotland and Ireland, where the story of whisky begins, peat has traditionally been harvested from bogs to keep the home hearth fires burning. In the distillery, the smoke from the peat fire permeates the malted barley which in turn imbues the whisky with its characteristic smoky flavour.
This smoky flavour is the essence of the key malt that gives Hakushu its distinctive taste. The malted barley that goes into making Hakushu Heavily Peated has been given an extra dose of peat smoke while drying before its slowly fermented in wooden wash backs and carefully distilled in direct fire still pots. The whisky is then stored in American white oak bourbon casks to quietly age in a warehouse nestled deep within the forest.
Open a bottle and discover the delicate, sweet smoky flavour that is uniquely Hakushu.