B-21 Top Recommendation
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"These aged Takamines are singular whiskies that showcase the full potential of the style. Uniquely Japanese and simply delicious, they're worth every penny." - Andrew Kitz, B-21 Spirits Buyer
You may not know the name Jokichi Takamine, but you certainly know some of his most important contributions to American life. As a highly esteemed Japanese chemist working in the U.S. in the early 20th century, he discovered the adrenaline hormone in humans and developed the anti-inflammatory epinephrine. So if you have a bee, peanut, shellfish, or other random allergy, thank Dr. Takamine. If you've ever visited the spring marvel that is the cherry blossoms on Washington, DC's Tidal Basin, you can also thank Dr. Takamine. He was instrumental in brokering the gift from the mayor of Tokyo to the District of Columbia. Without him that annual spectacle wouldn't exist. But most importantly to the whiskey world, Dr. Takamine discovered that the traditional koji mold so widely used in sake fermentation could also be used to great effect in barley fermentation, laying the foundation of what is now the koji whiskey category.
While Dr. Takamine's whiskey ventures never took off in the U.S. for a variety of reasons both commercial and regulatory, he took the method back to Japan, where it wasn't until nearly 100 years later that Shinozaki distillery started experimenting with it, producing the first modern, commercially viable koji whiskeys. Naming the brand after Dr. Takamine in honor of his vision, they've now releasing micro-batches of some of the very first koji whiskeys laid down at the distillery, in a variety of age statements to celebrate the growth of the category.
The Takamine 20 Year Old is a blend of four early experimental casks from 2003 and 2004, showing the multi-dimensional personality of the spirit as it starts to reach its true full maturity. The Takamine 26 Year Old, a world apart from the 20 Year Old from just six more years aging, is the last parcel of the very first experimental casks laid down in 1998. A true rarity and singular whiskey, only 600 bottles were filled and released for the entire global market, making it a collectible gem of the highest order. | 
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