Japanese Whisky

“It’s less sweet than bourbon but not as powerful and peaty as some Scotches, striking an appealing balance,” say some reviewers of JAPANESE WHISKIES.

In the 2003 film Lost In Translation, Bill Murray portrayed a middle-aged actor hired to appear in a Japanese whisky commercial for Suntory, which seemed like a small-market joke back then. Now, Japan is the third-largest whisky-producing nation, behind the U.K. and the United States. U.S. sales revenue of Japanese whisky jumped from $1.5 million in 2011 to $24.7 million in 2017. Japan’s whisky industry doesn’t have the ancient traditions that sake has, but its production finesse and attention to quality have made it successful. Due to its international success, suppliers have faced shortages, causing a bottle that once cost $50 to rise to $150, resulting in some scarcity in U.S. liquor stores. Nonetheless, some who sip a Japanese whisky neat for the first time claim it’s “like standing on a mountain in Japan,” and that it’s “more refined, subtle, and complex.”* [See some informative & fun links below.]

History: Around 1923, outsiders often came to Japan carrying bottles of Scotch with them. An entrepreneur born into a family of sake brewers—Masataka Taketsuru—traveled to Scotland to learn the whisky trade and subsequently mastered the craft of whisky-making at Scottish distilleries and through chemistry courses at the University of Glasgow. He became the godfather of Japanese whisky, playing a key role in the development of their whisky industry in the Scottish style.

Best Japanese Whiskies (prices vary)

• Nikka Coffey Grain ($71) – blend, mostly corn
• Nikka Days ($50) – blend, grain
• Nikka Yoichi ($82) – single malt, smoky
• Suntory Toki ($40) – blend, malt & grain, best highballs
• Hibiki Japanese Harmony 17y ($70) – blend, from Suntory
• Akashi White Oak ($40) – blend, crowd-pleaser
• Shinju ($45)- blend, best cocktails
• Mars Shinshu Iwai ($50) – corn, malted barley & rye
• Yamazaki 12y ($200) – single malt, from Suntory
• Hakushu 12y ($170) – single malt, water from mountains

Links to “Best Japanese Whiskies”:

https://www.liquor.com/best-japanese-whiskies-5078590

https://www.esquire.com/food-drink/drinks/a27466729/best-japanese-whiskey-bottles

*Link to TODAY SHOW’s Japanese Whisky Report, 7/27/21: https://www.today.com/video/celebrating-japanese-whiskey-and-sake-117449285671