Mugen Spirit Yokai Kuko 9 Year Four Grain Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon The Prime Barrel Pick #163

Discover a rare expression of Kentucky craftsmanship reimagined through Japanese-inspired storytelling.  Yokai Kuko is a 9-year-old 4-Grain Wheated Bourbon, an ultra-limited, cask-strength release from Louisville-based Mugen Spirit—an innovative whiskey house blending traditional Kentucky bourbon heritage with Japanese folklore and artistry.

Selected in an intimate basement speakeasy by The Prime Barrel alongside Mugen co-founder Kojin Tashiro, this exceptional barrel represents one of only six barrels of Yokai Kuko released from this distinctive mashbill.  And The Prime Barrel was the first group to pick one.  

Distilled in Newport, Kentucky, and aged for nearly a decade in a Kelvin Cooperage Char 3 barrel, Yokai Kuko pushes beyond the boundaries of traditional wheated bourbon with a meticulously crafted mashbill - 70% corn, 15% wheat, 10% honey roasted malt and 5% distillers malt.  The inclusion of honey roasted malt sets this bourbon apart—adding layers of toasted sweetness and elevating the profile into something entirely unique.

Yokai Kuko aged for 9 years, 10 months, and was bottled at full cask strength of 128.3 proof.  Rich and dessert-driven, this barrel layers toasted honey, caramelized sugar, and graham cracker with baked apple and subtle mocha.  It finishes long and refined, with toasted praline, lingering confectionery depth, and polished oak.

This is not a typical wheated bourbon. It is a fully realized, 4-grain composition—where each element plays a deliberate role in creating a profile that is layered, expressive, and unmistakably luxurious.

Elevate your collection with a bourbon that bridges tradition and imagination. Secure your bottle of Yokai Kuko now.

Barrel Details:

• Barrel:  16-10725
• Distilled:  6/23/2016 in Newport, Kentucky
• Age:  9 years, 10 months
• Mashbill: 70% corn, 15% wheat, 10% honey roasted malt, 5% distillers malt
• Barrel Entry Proof: 110 proof
• Proof: 127.3 proof

Tasting Notes:

• Nose:  Caramelized sugar and toasted honey layered over dark fruit and warm sugar cookie
• Palate:  Toasted honey richness, graham cracker, and buttery shortbread opening into baked apple and a subtle hint of mocha
• Finish:  Toasted praline, confectionery richness, and refined polished oak

Behind the Name: 

Yokai are a broad class of supernatural monsters, spirits, and demons in Japanese folklore.

Rather than being strictly evil, they are expressions of the strange, unexplainable or chaotic forces of nature and everyday life.

In Japanese folklore, a Kuko (literally "air fox" or "sky fox") is a type of celestial kitsune (fox spirit) that has reached an incredibly advanced state of spiritual evolution and divinity.

According to traditional texts on fox lore, a kitsune progresses through different ranks based on its age and wisdom. The Kuko represents an elite tier of this hierarchy, usually achieved after a fox reaches 3,000 years of age.

For more information about the folklore and artistry of the bottle, see mugenspirit.com/pages/mugen-kuko