What’s on the Hat of the Togouchi Yamame? Animal Ladies “Lady Yamame” (Hiroshima, Japan)

2026.10.05

In short: Lady Yamame is a Togouchi 2019 single malt from Hiroshima, Japan (5 years old, bourbon casks, 20ppm peated malt, 49%, 295 bottles) in Whisky Find’s “Animal Ladies” series. The oysters, lemon, green ume, dried figs and shrimp on the yamame trout’s hat echo the official tasting notes — and the whisky matured in a tunnel in Hiroshima’s mountains. By Mika Tanimoto, Bar Little Happiness, Hiroshima.

What’s on the hat of the yamame trout from Togouchi, Hiroshima? 🎩🐟

Look closely, and on top of the hat there are

oysters, lemon, green ume plums, dried figs and small shrimp.

…What a curious combination.

“Why oysters and shrimp on a yamame’s hat?”

That is what I thought — but when I looked into it, I found this hat hides all sorts of hints for enjoying the whisky.

The “Animal Ladies” series

This is from Whisky Find’s “Animal Ladies” series.

In this series, a representative animal living around each distillery is chosen and turned into a “Lady” — a spokesperson and a guardian for that distillery.

The animals are depicted as women wearing beautiful classical costumes.

And one more eye-catching thing in this series is the hat each Lady wears.

The hats feature motifs inspired by the flavours you can find in that spirit.

In other words, it is not just about personifying animals —

“This animal lives around this distillery.”

“This spirit has these aromas and flavours.”

— those ideas are woven into each Lady’s figure and hat.

The Lady of Togouchi, Hiroshima, is a yamame

This time the Lady is a yamame (masu salmon trout) from Togouchi, Hiroshima.

Togouchi is a mountain area.

A green place, with clear water flowing through it.

The yamame that live there are depicted as the Lady of this bottle.

On the label, Lady Yamame stands dignified in a classical costume.

And on her head is the hat I mentioned.

Oysters, lemon, green ume plums, dried figs and small shrimp.

Hiroshima means oysters.

Lemons are one of Hiroshima’s signature products, too.

Added to them are green ume plums, dried figs and motifs suggesting seafood.

Just looking at this hat, you somehow start to feel the connection between the land of Togouchi in Hiroshima and the taste of this whisky.

Whisky sleeping in the Togouchi tunnel

This bottle is

Togouchi 2019, 5 years old
Animal Ladies – Lady Yamame

Distilled in 2019 and matured for 5 years.

Matured in bourbon casks, bottled at 49% ABV.

A limited release of 295 bottles.

And one more thing you cannot leave out when talking about this whisky is where it matured.

In Togouchi, there is a tunnel used for maturing whisky.

When you actually visit, the area is truly surrounded by greenery.

In the quiet mountain scenery, time somehow moves slowly.

It is a little different from everyday life — a place where time flows gently.

A tunnel in such a place is used as a warehouse, and the whisky quietly gathers time in the cask.

Inside the tunnel, a unique air flow and high humidity make it a distinctive maturation environment.

In this environment, alcohol tends to evaporate more than water, which is said to give Togouchi whisky its velvety smooth texture.

A quiet place surrounded by greenery.

On top of that, this bottle uses malt peated to 20ppm.

Bourbon casks, peat, and 5 years of maturation in the Togouchi tunnel.

Official tasting notes

Nose

Green ume plum, heather honey, sea breeze, salt-grilled white fish, lemon, preserved plum, dried fig, green mango, agarwood, gentle smokiness

Palate

Candied green ume plum, fig, hawthorn, a balance of saltiness and sweetness, agarwood, a soft and refined texture

Finish

Sea breeze, faintly smoky peat, candied green ume plum, sweet fruitiness, clove, mocha, a pleasant lingering finish

Reading the tasting notes like this, the things drawn on Lady Yamame’s hat, which I saw first, gradually start to catch my attention.

Looking at Lady Yamame’s hat once more

Let’s look at the label once more.

On the hat,

oysters.
Lemon.
Green ume plums.
Dried figs.
Small shrimp.

— they are all there.

The tasting notes also mention green ume plum, lemon and dried fig.

And there are aromas suggesting seafood, like sea breeze and salt-grilled white fish.

“Is this what it means?”

It would be fun to drink while matching them up one by one.

Of course, you don’t need to check every single answer.

“This feels like green ume.”

“This saltiness is interesting.”

“A little smoky, but not too heavy.”

Drinking like that, going back and forth between what you feel and the label.

Then what at first was just “a cute label with a yamame on it” starts to look a little different.

Imagining Togouchi from the label

What is fun about this bottle is how all its elements really connect.

If you know the place where the Togouchi tunnel actually is, you see it a little differently again.

Surrounded by greenery, quiet, with time flowing gently.

In a place like that, the whisky in the cask changes little by little.

Of course it is fun to drink it without knowing the place, but once you know the background, you have more ways to imagine its aromas and flavours.

And after you finish, you look at the label again.

What was on the yamame’s hat again?

And from there, you want one more glass.

Knowing little tricks like this makes drinking even more fun.

Lady Yamame, the Lady of Togouchi, Hiroshima.

If you pick up this bottle, please pay attention not only to the taste of the whisky, but also to Lady Yamame’s hat!

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Whisky tastes even better when you touch the feelings of the people who make it.

Every encounter is meant to be. Welcome to the world of Rum&Whisky.

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