Japanese Whisky?

[The Swede]

Whilst writing this I am thoroughly enjoying a glass of Ardbeg 10 yo. Though a long-time fan of Islay whiskies I'd never tried this one and I can heartily recommend it. It requires great strength of mind to be able to stop drinking once the first few drops hits your tongue.

Anyway, my question is this: how do the Japanese distilleries match up to the Scottish? I've heard that the climate in Japan is very good for whisky but I've never tried it. The bottles look tantalizing in the shop but seem slightly more expensive than their Scottish counterparts.

What are your thoughts? What should I try?

 

[Arethusa]

For relaxing times, make it Santori time.

 

[LabelKing]

Originally Posted by Arethusa

For relaxing times, make it Santori time.
Roger Moore.

 

[minimal]

Well, it looks like you've got a picture of Suntory Hibiki 17-year-old blended there. It's a good blend, I have a bottle of that.

For the single malts, there's the obvious and easy-to-find Suntory Yamazaki, which is quite good in a variety of ages. I've had the 12, and it was good but not particularly complex. Similar to Oban if you want the scotch comparison.

If you have access, I'd say get one of the single malts from Nikka: they are easily available in the Tokyo or Osaka airports if you're passing through. Unfortunately, much more difficult to get if you're in the states. Their flagship "Yoichi" is *great*, I've had the 12 but I hear the others are just as good if not better. They also have a few single-cask versions. Here's the website (which will not help you get any, BTW).

There is a sister distillery to the Yoichi, also owned by Nikka. I forget the name but maybe someone else can provide it. I have enough trouble locatin g the Yoichi as it is...

 

[Newton]

Originally Posted by Arethusa

For relaxing times, make it Santori time.


That quote just had to come as quickly as possible.

 

[ninjapie]

Miyagikyo single malt, 12 years old.
Yoichi single malt, 12 years old.

These are as far as I know only available in Japan, though.

The landscape in Hokkaido is pretty similar to the Scottish Highlands, but Japanese peat doesn't give such an intense aroma as the Scottish does.

 

[Vintage Gent]

Originally Posted by LabelKing

Roger Moore.

Joey Bishop, would you like?

 

[Japanesewhisky]

For anyone who is interested, there is a website called Nonjatta that covers Japanese whisky. It is pretty definitive on the subject and is written by a group of whisky fans, so is not slanted by any commercial interest.

 

[Nantucket Red]

So, you've linked right back to this thread. That's the next best thing to being rickrolled.

Among Japanese whiskies, I like the Hakushu.
The comparison was made eariler to Oban, which is a good one for most Japanese single malts I've tried.

It's not that Japan has a similar climate to that of Scotland, but Hokkaido in particular.

By the way, Suntory is spelled Suntory.

 

[Piobaire]

Question: Is it the same person dragging up all these two year old threads with different log ins? There has been a real rash recently of dead threads getting necro'ed.

 

[centalones]

Originally Posted by minimal

If you have access, I'd say get one of the single malts from Nikka: they are easily available in the Tokyo or Osaka airports if you're passing through. Unfortunately, much more difficult to get if you're in the states. Their flagship "Yoichi" is *great*, I've had the 12 but I hear the others are just as good if not better. They also have a few single-cask versions. Here's the website (which will not help you get any, BTW).

I was a fan of this brand when I spent some time in Japan. I didn't ever get to try their high end stuff, but their black label stuff was quite drinkable for a 350 yen bottle. However, an African-American drinking buddy warned me to be careful where I ordered Black Nikka.