Japanese whiskey... Are you on the band wagon? If not you really should be.
More and more people are finding that Japanese whiskey is really some great stuff. So many people in fact that Japanese whiskey is suffering the same way Scotch did and the aged expressions are currently running out.
Japanese whiskey dates back to 1923 when the Yamazaki Distillery was opened and was Japan’s first single malt distillery. Suntory actually opened in 1899 but didn’t start producing whiskey until later. So with nearly 100 years of experience under their belts people have taken notice.
The interesting thing about Japanese whiskey is that it’s mainly blended stock. There is single malt, which has become very popular, but the blended stock is what’s most often sold. It’s used in sipping and cocktails. Another thing is that, unlike Scotch, Japanese distillers don’t share their whiskey’s for blends. So a Suntory blend will only have Suntory stock whereas Glenfiddich may include out of brand stock.
The Whiskey Tasters recently held a Japanese whiskey night where we got to try four different bottles of Japanese whiskey. The four bottles (pictured below) were firsts for us all. Most of us haven’t really gotten into Japanese whiskey so it was a nice night of firsts. One of the whiskey tasters had the idea of a Japanese night after he had travlled to Japan. Of the four bottles two came from the SAQ and two came directly from Japan and aren’t readily available in Canada. We paired the offerings with sushi and Green Tea KitKat’s. We had a great time as always and learned that we should venture into the Japanese whiskey aisle more often.
So we reiterate if you haven’t tried Japanese whiskey yet do yourself a favor and go get yourself a dram or bottle. If you have try it again because honestly what is there not to enjoy.
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