LOUISVILLE, KY (June 2026) — Today, Louisville-based bourbon innovator Mugen Spirit announced the release of Oni (鬼), the third major expression in its highly acclaimed Yokai Series. Marking the brand’s first-ever small-batch blended line, Oni is a barrel-proof Kentucky bourbon that channels the primal, chaotic energy of Japan’s most fearsome supernatural beings.
Arriving this June, Oni follows the brand’s successful Tengu and Kuko expressions, representing the most untamed and powerful release in the series to date.
A Trinity of Chaos: The Bourbon
While previous releases in the Yokai Series focused on discipline and transcendence, Oni is a celebration of elemental force. In Japanese folklore, Oni are towering supernatural beings inhabiting the mountains and edges of the known world—protectors and punishers representing the raw chaos beyond human order.
Selected blind by Mugen co-founder Kojin Tashiro, the expression draws on the full, uncompromising depth of what Kentucky distilling can offer.
“The Oni guard the gates between worlds,” said Tashiro. “This bourbon guards the line between extraordinary and impossible, and serves as the next penstroke in our love letter from Kentucky to Japan.”
The Art: Capturing Multiple Spirits
Every Mugen expression features original hand-inked artwork by Yuko Shimizu, the legendary Japanese-born, New York City-based illustrator known for reinterpreting traditional ukiyo-e woodblock prints through a contemporary lens.
To visually represent a small-batch blend of different whiskeys, Shimizu depicted three distinct Oni—red (Aka Oni) for desire, blue (Ao Oni) for cold fury, and green Oni for the untamed forces of nature—mid-rampage on a single, unified label.
“We chose multiple Oni on one label to show that this line is a blended bourbon,” said Shimizu. “I wanted the image to be both menacing and humorous at the same time. Initially, the eyeballs had black pupils, but making the pupils white made them look more like a menacing Yokai, and I liked how that turned out.”
A Bridge Between Two Cultures
Mugen Spirit was co-founded by Kojin Tashiro and Justin Delaney under the conviction that Kentucky bourbon and Japanese artistry share a deep kinship of patience, discipline, and reverence for craftsmanship.
Tashiro, born in Tokyo and raised in Louisville, created Mugen (meaning “a dream is but a mirage”) to weave his Japanese heritage and Kentucky home into a single story.
“I wanted to create something where I could belong culturally, where my Japanese heritage and my Kentucky home weren’t separate chapters, but the same story,” said Tashiro.
Availability & How to Purchase
As with all limited-edition Yokai Series releases, quantities of Oni are strictly limited. The barrel-proof bourbon rolls out this June exclusively online at the brand’s website and through select boutique retailers.
Members of Mugen’s “Lineage” loyalty program—a tiered community rooted in Zen philosophy—and subscribers to “The List” will receive first access. Whiskey seekers can sign up for availability updates directly at mugenspirit.com.
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