Adsense

Sunday, November 8, 2020

Japanese Whisky - The Whiskey Roundup

Japanese Whisky
Japanese Whisky Photo from VinePair
Japanese Whisky is one of those whiskey booms that was almost too good to be true. The Japanese
somehow found a way to make and market whiskey, some using Irish and Scottish Whisky Methods, that is sometimes smoother than the original. It is so sought after that it has become difficult to find in some cases. Though it is coming back around to liquor store shelves.

As much as I enjoy a good whiskey neat or on the rocks, it's nice to see one every once in a while that is distilled and bottled specifically for a cocktail, in this case the Highball. 

This is disappointing, though not surprising. Of course, every country is going to have different regulations. Even in the US, there is a distillery in Indiana called MGP where a lot of craft distilleries buy distillates and take them home to bottle, label, and distribute. Most of these craft distilleries are honest about the source, but that doesn't appear to be the case in Japanese whisky, which is what concerns me. 

Sometimes, you have to treat yourself. From what I have heard, not having been able to try these out myself, these are some outstanding whiskeys. The founder of the Nikka distillery learned from the masters in Scotland. Some of the whiskys at Nikka are made using the coffey column still method. 

I have had the opportunity to enjoy the Suntory Whisky Toki and have only dreamt about the others, seeing only a few in the wild. From what I understand, like the MacAllan 12 in the Scotch world the Yamazaki 12 and 18 are both considered the barometer for what is considered a great Japanese whisky.  

No comments:

Post a Comment

Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch

Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch Bourbon I typically bring a bottle to the deer camp to share with everyone. Nothing too fancy, but something ...