The Aura Of Mizunara

Dissecting the price premium of the spirit world's latest supplement

- Brad Japhe

The buzzword in booze these days is "mizunara." Over the past decade the rare species of old-growth Japanese oak has become prized for the unique, delicate notes of sandalwood and incense it imparts to spirits during aging-and the high prices those products can demand.

Mizunara casks were developed out of necessity during World War II, when the supply of European oak was cut off to the Far East. Although terribly unsuited to cooperage, the wood produced enviable results. Today you'll find all sorts of spirits beyond high-end Asian whisky flaunting mizunara bona fides: a $50 Minoki rum, a $350 Angel's Envy bourbon that flew off shelves in 2020, a $1,000 Ki Noh Bi mizunara-finished gin. Courvoisier is the latest to tap the trend with a just-released limited-edition XO cognac retailing at $2,000 a bottle.

After the war a majority of Japanese whisky production switched back to sherry butts and other imported oak. And so, like many things luxury, the allure of mizunara starts with scarcity-and a whole lot of headache. Mizunara's knotted and gnarled trunks generally aren't suitable to be cut into staves until the trees are at least 200 years old, and even then they typically yield only half as much timber as American oaks. In the forests of Hokkaido where they grow, the protected trees can't even be cut down; they must fall naturally.