Just In: Niigata Kameda Mizunara Expression “Hyakusei Fuma” — Palo Cortado × Mizunara

2026.10.05

In short: the 21st “Hyakusei Fuma” bottling by RUDDER is from Kameda Distillery in Niigata, Japan — about 2.5 years in palo cortado sherry casks, then about 10 months in mizunara, combining fino-like refinement, oloroso-like maturity and mizunara woodiness in a clean 3-year-old. From Bar Little Happiness, Hiroshima.

One of my favourite series has arrived! “Hyakusei Fuma” No. 21 is from Niigata Kameda!

Its name means “unworn even after a hundred generations, keeping its value forever” — truly a monumental bottle celebrating the next 100 years of Japanese whisky culture.

A miraculous hybrid: Palo Cortado × Mizunara

This bottle is No. 21 in a series attracting attention worldwide, carefully selected by the whisky bottler RUDDER.

Its contents went through a luxurious process.

• Maturation: about 2 years 6 months in palo cortado casks.
• Finish: about 10 months in mizunara casks.

A hybrid gem in which the maturity from palo cortado casks — which President Douta praised as “an excellent match for our spirit” — harmonises with the woodiness unique to mizunara casks.

What is a palo cortado cask?

▶︎ Why Is Palo Cortado So Rare? The Secret of Palo Cortado Casks, Explained with a Sherry Family Tree

Palo cortado is a very unusual type of sherry, so much so that it is called a “product of chance.”

It is wine that was meant to become fino (light and bright), but whose flor (film yeast) disappeared during ageing, so it unintentionally changed into something like oloroso (powerful, oxidative ageing).

So it combines two contrasting charms: “the refined flavour of fino” and “the maturity of oloroso.”

These casks, which President Douta loves so much he says “whichever one you sample, it’s delicious,” give astonishing depth to whisky as Niigata’s local spirit.

Official tasting notes

[Nose] Hazelnut, walnut, malted milk drink, ink, camphor, then sandalwood incense, hinoki cypress, osmanthus, fig, dried apricot.

[Palate] Acacia honey, maple syrup, coconut milk and ganache chocolate, dried orange, Darjeeling tea, cumin seed, gradually turning bitter and spicy.

[Finish] Candied citrus peel, peach skin, quince throat lozenges, resin, pine nuts. A pleasant, spicy sweetness that lasts a very long time.

[Comment] A hybrid Japanese whisky in which Niigata Kameda’s sweet, long-finishing house style harmonises with the refined flavour of fino, the maturity of oloroso, dried-fruit notes, and the woodiness of old wood and new mizunara.

“A northern bond”

I hear Mr Kitakaji, head of RUDDER, studied at the same university as President Douta (Hokkai-Gakuen University), as his junior — a deep connection.

A clean whisky you would never guess is only 3 years old 🥃

Together with the “Peach Brandy Cask”, please come and experience the “current position” of Niigata Kameda Distillery at the Little Happiness counter.

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

“Both whisky and rum taste even better when you touch the feelings of the people who make them.”