It came as a massive shock to the rum community when it was announced in 2024 that Japan's leading cult followed one-man show Nine Leaves would see its founder and operator Yoshiharu Takeuchi step down for personal familial reasons from the deeply artisanal rum-maker that he had built from scratch. What followed was an announcement that his rum making equipment as well as any remaining casks of rum he had on hand would be passed on to leading rum distributor and co-bottler (and in this case collaborator) Velier, which has since been stored in Nine Leaves' cellars that was once a former mine. Takeuchi-san had made the incredibly tough call to call it a day, and would have Velier immortalise what was left of his work in a final series so named after the Japanese card game Unsun Karuta (of 75 cards).

2024 saw the first batch of 5 Unsun Karuta release of Nine Leaves' rums - including the final distillation run, an unaged white rum titled Last Drops - and in 2025, we'll be seeing 5 more releases within the Unsun Karuta series. The 5 bottlings were produced between 2017 and 2020, and ranges from rums aged in Sherry PX casks to Armagnac, Spanish Oak and Red Wine casks.

Click Here For The Full List Of Whisky Live Paris 2025

Nine Leaves 5 Years Old 2020 Sherry Pedro Ximenez

59% ABV, Small Batch of 2 Casks - Pedro Ximenez, 929 bottles.

Made from a blend of two 400-liter casks of Pedro Ximénez, this small batch is a chromatic interweaving of vibrant brown, orange, and yellow hues. Heady and sunny, its aromatic and flavor palette is interspersed with fruity and infused sequences that constitute veritable wells of freshness.

Official Tasting Notes

Color: Deep Orange Copper

Aroma: Fine, deep. Powdery (cocoa, grated ginger), apricot, and toasted (toast), the aromatic palette initially unfolds particularly radiant Andalusian tones. Upon aeration, aromas of beeswax, oak stave, and varnish evoke a cabinetmaker's workshop.

Taste: Full-bodied, racy. Juicy (orange, peach, nectarine), the taste palette is also marked by eloquent flavors of dried fruits (fig, date). Then, noble spices (cardamom, saffron, ginger), bourbon vanilla, and coconut milk delicately invite themselves into the tasting

Finish: Fluffy, elegant. A blend of heady (cane flower), honeyed (lavender), herbaceous (Havana), gourmet (gingerbread), and fruity (kumquat) notes, it is gradually refreshed by infusions of verbena and chamomile. A thin layer of intermingled licorice and vanilla then provides a lot of smoothness to the retro olfaction, radiating maturity.

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Nine Leaves 7 Years Old 2018 Armagnac Cask

59% ABV, Small Batch of 3 Casks - Armagnac Casks, 923 bottles.

Made from a blend of three 300-liter casks that once contained Armagnac, this small batch highlights all the complexity of a remarkably pure distillate. Its airy aromatic and flavor palette offers a very pleasant succession of fruity, spicy, sweet, herbaceous, and floral notes, each more delicate than the last.

Official Tasting Notes

Color: Golden Yellow

Aroma: Fine, airy. From the outset, juicy scents of fresh pineapple, clove, and lemon brilliantly take center stage. The aromas then become more heady (cane flower), smoother (cane sugar), and more vanilla-flavored. Then, aromas of eucalyptus and Armenian paper add an empyreumatic touch.

Taste: Elegant, slender. In turn fruity (lemon, pear), the flavor palette also passionately crosses vegetal (cane fields) and herbaceous (cut hay, reed) regions radiating brightness and freshness. Over time, cane syrup spreads over the walls of the palate

Finish: Delicate, slender. Closely linked to the taste palette, it invites us to savor the fresh pineapple so beautifully evoked on the first nose. For its part, the particularly smooth retro-olfaction is deliciously honeyed (acacia), minty, and infused (lemon balm).

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Nine Leaves 5 Years Old 2020 Sherry Pedro Ximenez

60% ABV, Single Cask #21 - Pedro Ximenez Casks, 464 bottles.

Echoing the small batch, also aged in Pedro Ximénez barrels, from the same Itinéraires catalog, this single cask demonstrates an extraordinary depth of field. Revealing notes of lightly burnt black cane sugar, its aromatic and flavor palette is also traversed by medicinal, floral, fruity, and honeyed trails resplendent with maturity.

Official Tasting Notes

Color: Deep Orange Copper

Aroma: Rich, deep. Medicinal (balm), chocolatey, tenderly spicy (cinnamon, ginger), verdant (sugarcane field), and heady (tuberose, iris), the aromatic palette constantly gains height. Upon aeration, aromas of blood orange, linden honey, and undergrowth (mushroom, chestnut) take possession of the olfactory space.

Taste: Both lively and full-bodied. Fibrous (sugarcane), empyreumatic (ash, burnt wood), and at the same time fruity (date, fig) and honeyed (lavender), the taste palette is impressively concentrated. Over time, flavors of marmalade, quince jelly, and bourbon vanilla compete in intensity.

Finish: smooth, delicate. Covered by a thin layer of salted caramel, it quickly evolves towards particularly smooth tropical notes (mango, persimmon, guava). At this precise moment, the influence of aging has reached its zenith. Long after, the glass captures, in great detail, the medicinal, chocolate, and herbal character of the first nose.

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Nine Leaves 7 Years Old 2018 Spanish Oak

59% ABV, Single Cask #51 - Virgin Oak Casks, 205 bottles.

Impressive, original, baroque, vibrant, generous, timeless, poetic—these are just a few adjectives that suit this extraordinary version, whose aromatic and flavour palette invites us to discover more than unusual lands.

Official Tasting Notes

Color: Burnt Siena

Aroma: ample, deep. Absolutely magnificent, the aromatic palette classily deploys scents (medical bandage), nobly spicy (cardamom, saffron), fruity (blood orange, roasted mango), terpenic (lava), and autumnal (roasted walnuts and chestnuts) of rare intensity. Upon admission, it evolves into even more mature aromas dominated by notes of figs, icing, cocoa powder, and Hasane.

Taste: Rich, sweet. On the attack, pine resin, raw cane sugar, and flavors of bitumen and camphor highlight the strong personality of the taste palate. Very pleasantly saline, licorice, and mineral (xan), it becomes increasingly porous, oriental rooty (curry, turmeric).

Finish: Dense, full-bodied. Evoking with striking realism the sensation of chewing a licorice stick, it combines sandalwood flavors that bring a mystical dimension. Remarkably fresh, the aroma is a delicious excuse to savor a cardamom tea. The empty glass, meanwhile, is halsamic (oak, pine, Vosges candy).

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Nine Leaves 8 Years Old 2017 Red Wine Cask

60% ABV, Single Cask #15 - Red Wine Casks, 192 bottles.

Aged in a cask that had previously contained a red wine from the Wente estate, located in the Californian vineyard of Livermore Valley, this version shines with its elegantly extroverted character. Radiant with brightness, its aromatic and flavor palette ventures into the world of Scottish single malts to better highlight its intensely fruity and floral character.

Official Tasting Notes

Color: Topaz

Aroma: A nose that is both powerful and voluptuous. Woody (morrhagic china), spicy (clove), and powdery (cacacia), the aromatic palette gradually takes on vanilla, resinous, and myrrh (acacia) tones, which give it more smoothness. Aeration, heady floral scents (fresh fig and cherry plum) permeate the atmosphere.

Taste: Lively, taut palate. Peppery and fruity (pear and mirabelle plum), the taste palette also reveals flavors of slightly burnt cane sugar. This generous opening continues with succulent notes of cherry brükis, milk rice, and other, more minty notes.

Finish: Long, reminiscent in more than one way of a Highland single malt, it is both tropical (roasted pineapple, candied mango, horticultural) and complacent. Then, notes of sapellista and cane syrup draw us into a lush universe. In retrospect, emotive aromas of geranium and apricot peach prolong the tasting experience to infinity.

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Kanpai!

88 Bamboo Editorial Team