Japanese Whiskies

[Luke]

Welcome aboard Luke!

Please report back and tell us what you thought...

Cheers Luke. Have a nice trip and bring some photos to post on this forums, please!

Hi Luke,

The only distillery you may have trouble getting into is Karuizawa. In some of my recent correspondence with Chris Bunting from nonjatta(the worlds best blog/website on japanese whisky) he told me he had tried to arrange some private tours of the distlillery without success. http://nonjatta.blogspot.com/

If you are going to be in Tokyo do not miss the worlds best Japanese whisky bar, Shot Bar Zoetrope in the Shinjuku area. http://homepage2.nifty.com/zoetrope/ Even without visiting a single distillery, the owner Horigami-san will introduce you to a world of Japanese whiskys rarely glimpsed outside of that country.

Have fun, Japanese whiskys can be brilliant!!

Further to my note above about Karuizawa, although there is no distllery tour as such, I have heard of people just turning up and if the distillery manager is in the mood has shown them around the place. Remember, it's a closed distilllery so the manager may not even be there at the time you go. Good Luck.

Well I spent roughly one month in Japan and I visited three distilleries:

> Hakushu
> Yamazaki
> Yoichi

I finally had some time to look through my photos from the distillery visits and a small selection can be seen here:
http://www.japanesewhisky.net/photos.html

I also visited Shot Bar Zoetrope in Tokyo and it was wonderful. I would absolutely recommend a visit if you have the chance. A truly exceptional range of Japanese whiskies are available to taste.

In particular I found Yoichi to be outstanding and I had a very enjoyable day walking around their distillery and trying many of their amazing whiskies.

I'm very keen to get back to Japan and visit more of the whisky distilleries, however the next trip on the list is Scotland (again), so Japan will have to wait for a bit!

[MaltyRay]

Have never tried Japanese whisky...but interested in them,,,,any recommendations on which ones to try for starters.

[Jolly Toper]

They can be quite pricey but try Nikka All Malt or the 'straight from the cask' bottlings.

[Pete Smoke]

Hakushu 12 is, for me, head and shoulders above the other 'entry level' Japanese. A little more expensive is the Hakushu Heavily Peated, another fine expression.

[dramtastic]

Hakushu 12 is, for me, head and shoulders above the other 'entry level' Japanese. A little more expensive is the Hakushu Heavily Peated, another fine expression.

Pete loves his Hakushu's

Head and shoulders above other entry level Japanese whiskys is probably an opinion only held by Pete though.

I do think Hakushu 12 is excellent(there are actually a couple of even better entry level Hakushus) but I would put the following ahead of it(if not by much)
Nikka From The Barrel
Yoichi 12(ignore Pete talking about E-150 in this one, he also reckons he sees dead people )
Horigami-san owner of the only specialist Japanese whisky bar in in Japan 'Zoetrope,' says of all the Japanese whiskys he could recommend to a newbie it would be Yoichi 12. I agree.
Certainly I rate both Hakushu 12 and Yoichi 12 well above Yamazaki 12
Also very good are
Nikka's Pure Malt Black and the Peaty Pure Malt White

Jolly Toppers recommendation of Nikka's All Malt is also a good one. Not as good as the above IMO but quite tasty for the price.

[MaltyRay]

Thanks so much malt mates for the heads up on select whiskies to try,my wallet going to take another hit.leaning toward the Hakushu & Yoichi 12.

[Pete Smoke]

Pete loves his Hakushu's

Head and shoulders above other entry level Japanese whiskys is probably an opinion only held by Pete though.

I love my Hakushus i do. And for a good reason, they are simply head and shoulders above any other entry level Japanese whiskies. Brian, that's not just an opinion, that's a fact.

[dramtastic]

How can I resist such passion and resolute comittment to the 'facts'.

Hakushu rules!!

[WhiskyNotes]

Not sure what your budget is, but Yamazaki 18yo is one of the most archetypal Japanese whiskies for me.
Nikka Yoichi 10yo is also a real benchmark malt when it comes to Japanese whisky (lightly peated).

[Clint A]

Hi all,

Newbie to the forum, nevertheless been reading the forum for as long as I can remember, especially the Japanese Whiskies topic. Like you all, I have an interest in drams from Japan, which gave me the inspiration to write a few things about the scene, focusing on West Japan (Kobe/Osaka/Kyoto).

Recently I have come across an interesting bottle of Nikka's Super blend. It is in a beautiful ceramic bottle, from kilns of Imari (arita-yaki). Unfortunately, regardless of my sources, I cannot get any info on it. I'm looking forward to hear from Dramtastic but have yet to do so.

Thought someone out there may know something that I do not. Would love to hear from anyone that does.

Post: http://whiskiesrus.blogspot.com/2011/10 ... ottle.html
Whiskies R Us

Thanks

[C57]

Welcome Clint. Hope you find the info you want

[athlete cured]

enough dawdling, I'm finally going to get the Yamazaki 18. it's still under $90 here and I can't recall a negative review.

[LukeFive]

I have bought my first Japanese whisky today and after careful consideration I went for the Yamazaki Bourbon Barrel 48.2% 2011. I will not open it............ at least for now, but Im glad I finally got Japanese whisky into my collection

[LukeFive]

My Japanese collection grew up!
Karuizawa Spirit of Asama 55% coming next week .
Here is my Japanese ''Connection''

[Pete Smoke]

Luke, our Japanese whisky enthusiast Dramtastic started his own blog, check it out.


http://www.thejapanesewhiskyreview.com/

[Wee Robbie]

Thanx for the info Pete Smoke. Dramtastic, your blog is very well done and a very good source. Will look for some of your recommends as I have been interested in trying Japanese spirits. Our selection in Canada is still very limited, however I do see some bottlings available in the Province of Alberta where I will be visiting in a couple of months. You have given me some good reading till then.
Wee Robbie

[LukeFive]

Thanks Pete,
Today I ordered the following:
Karuizawa 1982 / Noh Cask #8529 / Bourbon Cask

Karuizawa Spirit of Asama / 55%

and the Hakushu Heavily Peated ( after your recommendation

hakushu.jpg (20.83 KiB) Viewed 1209 times

Will post real pics once I receive them

[Neso]

Hello all, I'm a newbie at Whisky and I will like to start discovering Japenese Whisky. I'm from Canada and I just don't know where to go to buy great japanese Whisky.

Do you know a place on the web or somewhere in Canada ?

Thanks for sharing your best address

Regards,

[Mr Tattie Heid]

Neso, we have a lot of Canucks around here. They tend to congregate in the Maple Leaf Lounge, where they discuss issues peculiar to Canuckistan, and are, I believe, plotting an invasion of the US. (They seem to be a little worked up on the bicentenary of the War of 1812.) As you might imagine, things are a little Hogtown-centric there, but there are a few members from the outer colonies, as well.

(I think they are also pondering who's going to be mathematically eliminated first, the Leafs or the Jays. )

[AK9]

The TWE Karuizawas have made a re-appearance on the TWE site.

The bourbon #8497 is still available at original price £180 ..