Since its 2011 debut, La Maison du Whisky’s (LMDW) Artist range has paired fine single casks with artwork, turning each bottle label into a canvas for creative expression. Every edition marries the whisky’s character with an artist’s interpretation of the world.
After 15 years focused on Scotch whisky, LMDW takes the range in an unexpected direction with its first Japanese edition: eight single casks from Nikka’s Yoichi and Miyagikyo distilleries.
LMDW commissioned Japanese photographer Yoshiki Hase to create a series of images for the labels. In his ‘Dessin’ series, Hase integrates simple geometric shapes into natural landscapes—a curtain suspended in the air or a sphere balanced on a pole. Through long-exposure photography, he lets the wind move these structures, capturing images that visually symbolise the passage of time.
Photographing both distilleries, Hase gave each a unique visual identity. Blue defines Yoichi’s design with an orb on the winter coast and a curtain among the copper stills. Green dominates Miyagikyo’s, featuring a curtain in the surrounding woods and an orb suspended above the Nikkawa River.
The collection’s significance extends beyond its artistic collaboration. To highlight the unique expressions of the two distilleries, LMDW and Nikka’s then-chief blender, Hiromi Ozaki, selected the eight single casks through a blind tasting of nearly 30 samples. Part of this selection includes two whiskies distilled in 1986 and bottled at a mature age of 40 years.
According to LMDW, these are the oldest releases from Yoichi and Miyagikyo. Yoichi’s 40-year-old is the rarer of the two, with a remade hogshead yielding only 39 bottles. At S$26,000, this deeply peated, complex whisky offers aromas of iodine, smoke, fruit, and medicinal notes.
The 40-year-old Miyagikyo, aged in an American oak puncheon, is limited to 174 bottles and its recommended retail price is $13,600. With a richer, rounder profile, it combines medicinal and oxidative notes with chocolate and roasted characteristics.
Although both distilleries produced these whiskies in the same year, each has its own distinct identity. Established in Hokkaido in 1934, Yoichi uses traditional coal-fired stills to produce a spirit recognised for its weight, peat, and saline character. Miyagikyo, founded in Miyagi Prefecture in 1969, employs steam-heated stills to create a more delicate, fruity, and floral style.
The remaining six bottlings are from different ages and cask types, including a 10-year-old Yoichi and Miyagikyo expressions, a 35-year-old Yoichi, and a 25-year-old Miyagikyo. Collectively, these broaden the edition, while the two 1986 casks emphasise its exceptional rarity.
