In recent years, one destination has consistently been in the focus of whiskey fans. Japan, distant to us, slightly mystical, often incomprehensible, and full of curiosity.
I first encountered Japanese whiskey around 2010-2011, when the 12-year-old versions of Yamazaki, Hibiki, and Hakushu were freely available and without any particular interest. The market in those years was looking for certain trendy brands from the main whiskey destinations – Scotland, Ireland, and America. Mentioning whiskey from the land of the rising sun brought more sarcastic comments about how for 90 BGN I could buy a great single malt, and not a completely unknown, and perhaps strange-tasting, whiskey from an unpopular destination.
The year is 2015, and Jim Murray's whiskey bible (adored by some and ridiculed by others in whiskey circles) gives 97.5 points to Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2013 and declares it the number 1 whiskey of the year. Boom! So much for the unknown whiskey samurais. The world went crazy and whiskey from Japan started to run out, and prices began to soar. The brands listed above became difficult to find, and their prices doubled or tripled. Currently, on some websites, you can find Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2013 for around £7,000!
In 1924, the first whiskey distillery in Japan, Yamazaki, was opened thanks to Shinjiro Torii and Masataka Taketsuru.
In his youth, Shinjiro Torii worked for his uncle, who produced and traded various alcoholic beverages, including Japanese whiskey. Later, he started his own business as a trader and producer of Western alcoholic beverages.
Taketsuru came from a family of sake producers. He studied at the technical university in Osaka, where he was hired by the alcohol merchant Settsu Shuzo. He was entrusted with the production of different types of alcoholic beverages, and in 1918 the company sent him to Scotland, where he practically mastered all the intricacies of whiskey production at the Longmorn and Hazelburn distilleries. When he returned to Japan in 1920, in addition to the knowledge in his head, he also had a wedding ring on his hand from his Scottish wife. Unfortunately for Settsu Shuzo, when Taketsuru returned, the company was suffering from the economic consequences of the depression, and plans to build a distillery were abandoned.
In 1924, when Torii opened the Yamazaki distillery, he hired Taketsuru as manager. This was followed by the first true commercial production of whiskey in Japan. Taketsuru worked for the successful distillery for 10 years and in 1934 he founded his own whiskey company Dainipponkaju, as well as the Yoichi distillery in Hokkaido. After the end of the war, he continued working, changing the company's name to Nikka Whisky Distilling.
A short film about Japanese whiskey history can be seen at the following link:
Currently, there are 22 operating distilleries in Japan, 8 of which have opened since 2016: Yamazaki, Yoichi, Mt. Fuji, Hakushu, Miyagikyo, Chichibu 1, Chichibu 2, Akkeshi, Asaka, Eigashima, Kaikyo, Kanosuke, Kurayoshi, Mars Shinshu, Mars Tsunuki, Nagahama, Nukada, Okayama, Saburomaru, Sakurao, Shizuoka, Yasato, Yuza.
Click here to browse the selection of Japanese whiskey brands.
Closed distilleries and magnificent, increasing-in-price bottles for collector and investor friends from:
Karuizawa — located in Nagano — owned by Mercian, which is part of Kirin. Ceased operations in 2001.
Hanyu — located in Saitama, near Tokyo — closed in 2000.
Look forward to a continuation soon about production processes, small secrets, and curious facts about Japanese whiskey culture.
A small, but very high-quality Japanese whiskey selection can be found on the website www.vida.bg, as well as in Caldo whiskey bar.
