The 2018 report was once again the most viewed post on the Japanese Whisky Review. Not surprising that given the Japanese Whisky drought, even more folks are keen to know where and when stuff is available. Comments were up by almost 200 on the 2017 report with 631 vs 433. A big shout out to all those who commented, especially the regulars!
I think we all know 2019 will be at least as tough buying Japanese Whisky in Japan as 2018 but every contribution counts so please keep the comments coming this year. I know from personal experience I was able to grab a number of bottles in 2018 that I would have missed out on if readers hadn’t advised of pending releases!
Kampai
Brian AKA Dramtastic
The Japanese Whisky Review
By Dramtastic Est 2012
Welp…I’ve been hearing rumors of this, for a couple of years, from my JP sources (and posting it here), but they finally announced it on Sunday. Nikka is dropping the TK 25, TK21 and TK 17 from their production line, permanently. They’re also re-tooling their Taketsuru NAS. My guess it will be a more like Hibiki Blender’s Select, with some slightly higher aged materials, at a higher price.
I know the TK’s haven’t been easy to find in these days, but they were easier to find than thank the Yamazaki in Japan (especially closer to SRP). But you can add these bottles to your whisky museum, if you’ve still got one.
Not an auspicious way to start the new year.
Wow, the prices have already jumped. One well known website just put a “1′ in front of their previous (high) prices for T17 and T21! That’s more than they are asking for a bottle of Yoichi 15. Other sites have raised their prices a mere 20-30%, lol.
I will be in Yoichi in a few weeks, so will report.
Am expecting the older Tsuru 17 blend to be the only age statement product on offer. Nonetheless, the visit is worthwhile just to sample the single casks & buy some of the Salty & Peaty, which I like.
I thought the new Tsuru release is a NAS? Didn’t notice a 17 on it.
I still have 2 bottles of the original 17 year Tsuru. One in the glass decanter, the other in the porcelain decanter.
I don’t recall every\ trying the NAS but I rate the 17YO(at least when the price was reasonable) as a lovely whisky. I don’t think the whisky in the glass decanter and the porcelain is any different.
Just to verify, only NAS’s were on offer at the Yoichi Distillery Gift shop now, including the Tsuru. Even the offerings at the Whisky Museum tasting bar are more limited now, but they do still have single casks there, though. There are a number of other Scotches on offer at reasonable prices in the bar & gift shop, interestingly…or sadly…enough.
It wasn’t hard to find the Yamazaki/Hakushu NAS’s (8K yen) around Niseko (Seikomart & Hirafu 188). Seikomart had some Harmony (10k) also. The Nikka NASs were less available. Finding what you wanted in a bar was no problem, except when the bill came.
In Tokyo, I did see a bottle of Blender’s Choice at Shinanoya Ginza(10K, same as online price,), and at the nearbyLiquor Mtn (15k). Yamazaki 12 was 21k at Liquor Mtn, which is higher than the US price.
I bought a bottle of Blender’s Choice for 10k from a Rakuten store & intend to compare it to Harmony Master’s select, since the pricing is similar. It is really easy to buy from Rakuten or the others & have it shipped to your hotel, which is what I did.
I saw some Okayama Triple cask (Matsuya and near ANA wing in T1 Narita) for 16.5k, which was tempting, but I was already over budget. It wasn’t available for sampling anywhere that I went either. Did not see the Sherry cask anywhere.
The crowds are way, way down in both Niseko & Tokyo, as you might imagine.
Anyone in the Fukuoka area. Just popped into Bon Yo Liquor shop and they had about 8 bottles of Mars Tsunuki Aging on the shelf for about 7,900 yen +Tax. Not buying because I already own two.
Hope everyone’s New Year is a great one full of Japanese Whisky.
See you in the 2020 version of this column.
Have you opened the 2019 Tsuniki Aging yet? I’ve heard from one person I trust (bar owner) that it wasn’t as good as previous ones
Not yet. But I’ll give it a try after I get back to the states. Right now I’m at Bar Kitchen enjoying a Chichibu Malt Dream Cask for Tamori Club (TMC) an 8 year Bourbon Barrel at 62.3%ABV, which is very enjoyable.
Happy New Year! Just to follow up. I did get to try the Tsunuki aging yesterday. I liked it, but maybe a little less than the 2018 version. Maybe a little too much heat than the 2018 offering.
Also, my local California Liquor Store, K&L, had about 8 bottles of the 2019 Tsunuki Aging for $200 each. I obviously didn’t pick it up, but it sold out in a day none-the-less.
Happy New Year! Not the first time I’ve heard the same from others about the 2019 Tsunuki Ageing vs the 2018. Wonder if the heat will settle a little after the bottle has been open for a while which is something I’ve experienced from both young Mars and Chichibu Whisky.
Thanks as always for your many contributions throughout the year. Looking forward to a bunch of whiskies from the newest Japanese distilleries. Best Wishes and Happy Hunting in 2020.
Found an Akashi Sake 4year Cask #101541 at a new liquor store in the Nakasu area of Fukuoka (ABC Liquors). This seems to be a special run that was done for the Modern Malt Whisky Market. A run of 980 bottles. The cost was 7,200 yen Tax Free. A bit pricey for a 4 year old whisky that’s only 500ml, but since it’s a limited release, I decided to grab it. Seems like it’s available online as well https://item.rakuten.co.jp/sakenomori/10000724/
Akashi appeared to be cranking out quite a bit sake cask bottles lately. Curious to see your view on this one as compared with other sake casks released early.
Happy surprise find today. Was at one of my usual liquor store haunts in Fukuoka and they had on the shelf an Ichiro’s Malt The Single Cask 6 year Peated, cask #2689, for the MMWM whisky expo. 1 of 232 bottles.
The catch was you had to purchase it as a set with 3 other Spanish Sherry Wine Bottles from what I guess is an associate of Akuto-san who bottles various aged sherry wines from Spain (Lustau selected single cask wines). The total cost of all 4 bottles 50,000 yen. This was a no-brainer considering that the Ichiro’s bottle alone has been selling for more 3x that online at auction, not to mention a certain unscrupulous Japanese online retailer has it for $2,400 USD. I’ll probably gift the sherry wine to friends. Maybe try one for curiosity sake.
It was the only bottle set they had. Sorry folks. But feel free to drop by Bon Yo liquors if you are ever in the area, they may surprise you.
Nice! I would have done the same.
2019 Komagatake Tsuniki Aging up for order on Mars’ shop (1 per person). Only ships within Japan.
https://www.shop-hombo.jp/SHOP/50290.html
Thank you for the tip! Glad I’m in Japan right now.
If anyone is wanting a Yamazaki 18 I have a bottle at an incredibly reasonable price, box included. Kyoto/Osaka area.
Can you email me ?
Would you be willing to send it to Fukuoka?
How much and is this still available? In Osaka til the 17th.
Got one and thank you.
If anyone’s looking for Yamazaki 12’s in Kyushu, I spotted them at various Mori Drugs, in Fukuoka, for about 18,000 yen (Tax Free). Or, if you’re willing to travel 30 minutes by train to Kurume, you can find it for 13,900 (Tax free) at the Isetan Department Store B1 Floor (saw about 6 yesterday).
Other than that, all I’m seeing is Komagatake LE 2019 around Fukuoka, also, some Nikka Tailored and From The Barrel in some shops, or Yamazaki & Hakushu NAS.
Happy Holidays Everyone…Hope your 2019 was enjoyable so far.
Been in Japan for nearly 3 weeks (From Sapporo to Beppu) and seen scant offerings – actually nothing of note (but to be frank have not really been searching hard! Realise it’s hard out there.)
Have bought, on occasions, a couple of small Hakushu NAS for quiet nips at hotel. That, and Chita, seem reasonably readily accessible from FamilyMart/Lawson.
Otherwise all the Best to one and all.
Been to Tokyo, Fukuoka, and Osaka the past 10 days. So far I’ve only seen the Komagatake LE 2019, Akkeshi New Born Malt & Grain, and Yoichi and Miyagikyo NAS on the shelves in all 3 cities. And I found the Kannosuke New Born (16 Months Bourbon Cask) at Hanshin Dept Store in Osaka. Plenty of Ichiro’s Malt & Grain & Hibiki Blenders Choice, as well. Everything else worth seeking is either way overpriced, or unavailable.
Liquor Mountain in Tokyo and Osaka has their exclusive bottle Mars “Burn The Barrel” blend, which is a World-Whisky, but don’t let that stop you. I’ve enjoyed their other blends.
I was only in Tokyo and Chichibu 21st November through to 27th. Chichibu city there was only the standard Chichibu White Label World Blend and one store had Toki and about 5 Akashi expressions but none I did not already have. Tokyo was even worse than the same time last year. More fake Japanese Whisky than anything else. Isetan still has bottles of it’s Mars Tsunugi Blend Y7,700. I actually did not buy any bottles on the fly while I was there as really nothing to see. Did however pick up my pre-order, 2 x Kanosuke New Born 16 Months Bourbon Cask, 2 x Akkeshi Foundations 4, Akashi IMO Sherry Cask, back ups of Chichibu The Peated 2013 & 2015, Chichibu Single Cask For Whisky Talk Fukuoka 2019, Mars Sakura Cask Finish, Mars LE 2019 & a Single Cask Mars 2019 that I doubt many people have seen/heard of. Did way better at bars which had plenty of Japanese Whiskies on offer. A couple of relative newbies in Tokyo Aloha Whisky Bar Ikebukuro, Shinjuku Whisky Salon. Also Highlander Inn Chichibu(opened this last quarter 2019) and returned to the awesome Bar Te-Airigh Chichibu. Toured Chichibu distillery again and was able to try some cool distillery exclusive Chichibu.
Shopping has been rather depressing. Did find a Kannosuke New Born 8 Months White Oak Cask bottle. However, my connection got me a bunch of the Mars New Make’s (500 ML) bottles, and a Hojo’s Selection Sherry Butt. But the highlight was picking up the Ichiro’s and Mars WhiskyTalk Fukuoka 2019 bottles.
If you didn’t already know Chichibu On The Way 2019 was just released and Mars Tsunuki Ageing 2019 this month also. Have ordered a bottle of each. You may have read there should be a 3YO Akkeshi released in late Feb 2020(from memory) though Y5000 for a 200ml bottled. First 3YO Mars distilled at Tsunuki end of April 2020.
Thanks for the head’s up. I snagged the On the Way 2019 & Tsunuki Aging, at a shop in Osaka. The only ones they had, unfortunately, but they were at SRP.
These days when so many people can get none especially at SRP, I am more than happy getting at least one!
Any idea chichibu travel exclusive 2019 still available at Haneda airport? Just can find at Haneda airport?
I already commented on the Nikka 12 year blend review but I will again here.
I visited Miyagikyo few weeks ago. No 12 year blend expression anymore its been replaced by Nikka “Tailored.” I’m not sure if its as good but the price difference says it all atm (9000 yen vs 5000 yen). It’s the 50th anniversary of Miyakigyo distillery so I decided to buy their 50th anniversary blend expression (500ml) at 3,500 yen couldn’t go wrong. Also they are offering a “2000s” blend of single malts from year 2000 to 2009 so its at least 10 years old whiskey inside.
I also received a bottle of 12 year Yamazaki to my jubilation. My local is quite scare of any good whiskey in shops. I only saw regular Yamazaki once in Donki out of the 3-4 times i visited for 8000 yen (about 200% RRP) so greatly looking forward to having a dram of this legendary whiskey.
I was in Tokyo for couple days. All the aged Suntory whisky are now having heavily inflated price (you can found them at Liquor Express Ginza or Mega Donki Shinjuku). Found Akashi 4yrs sake cask at Mitsukoshi Nihombashi for ¥7000, and they still have couple bottle there as of today if you are interested. Thanks to James, i also got Chichibu travel exclusive at HND duty free (near gate 107 if I remember correctly). They still have 2 bottles left after i bought one.
Just got a bottle of Chichibu 2019 Travel Exclusive at one of DFS at NRT terminal 2. Three left if you happen to be around and are interested. ¥30,000 each. Good luck.
Thanks James….3 and a half weeks early for when I will be there but a grea tip for anyone there now!!!!
Currently at HND. TIAT DFS near ANA lounge has three Chichibu Travel Exclusive Bottles if you around and interested.
Nice! Glad to know HND get these bottles. You think they will still be available in December?
Total bottle number is 642 so hopefully there still be some left. Will head back there in a few weeks too.
Looks like Akashi has released a new “special blend” for Japan. This one claims to be 100% all British Malt. I assume they mean malted grain, and not that just it’s a blend of all whisky from the UK. This I guess also means that the rum component was removed from this version, which essentially just makes it the same as the EU-UK imported version, since that one doesn’t allow the rum component.
https://shop.ei-sake.jp/products/88
Just ordered from a Rakuten site a Mars blended malt bottle “Dake Kanba”, which apparently has been released for sale in Hokkaido. 5,500 yen each. Not much other information available.
More information
https://www.nomunication.jp/2019/10/16/dake-kanba-is-hokkaidos-own-mars-whisky/
Hi.. been in Kyoto/ Osaka 4 days…been running around checking…the map may look small on the phone, but its a ton of walking.
Empty of good stuff at all the Isetan/ Tamashimaya/ Daimaru dept stores, i even checked their basement and top floors…
Several Liquor Mountain in osaka Have Hibiki 21 for ¥792,00 …
This is a good place to hunt…Theres a small east/west street just north of Dotunbori with 3 liquor stores in a row, including a Liquor Mountain.. the middle store with a lady clerk/ boss showed me her hand calculator ¥50,000 for Hibiki 17… i passed.. the third smaller liquor store had Hibiki Blenders Choice for ¥9,400…..
Tiny Namba Yamaya also has couple
Bottles Hibiki BC hidden on bottom row of glass cabinet for ¥ 10,000. The Dotunbori Yamaya is a nice big store but only Nikka by the Barrel for ¥2400..
Kyoto station Don quiote has Hibiki Harmony for ¥19,400…….Avanti Aeon Mall Grocery store next door has zilch….
Yamazaki Distillery has great tastings as everyone has said.. Gift shop, just bought some souvenir glasses..don’t bother for Vintage bottles.. even the workers are very apologetic when asked…i can see they’ve been asked a million times if they have Hibiki or Yamazaki…
Talisker 18: ¥13,000. Redbreast 15: ¥7890
Bourbonwise: i have yet to see Blanton’s SFTB. Just Blacks: ¥5500-6000…. i see Wild Turkey 13: ¥6000…. Four Roses super premium: ¥ 6800..
Still have 5 days to go next in Tokyo.
As predicted, slim pickings so far. Around Kobe I found a Yamazaki 12Yr for ¥16k at a small liquor store near Misakikoen Station (I was heading to the rugby so left it). Today around Akashi a liquor store in a covered market opposite Akashi Stadium had the 10Yr Old Sherry cask Akashi, 3Yr Imo Sherry and 5Yr Bourbon casks, as did a supermarket in Nishiakashi station. ¥14k for the 10Yr, ¥6700 for the bourbon and ¥4500 for the Imo Sherry.
We went early to Yamazaki Distillery yesterday and picked up one of the 180ml distillery exclusives for ¥1500. No age statements behind the counter as In previous years. All the distillery exclusives were gone by 1145 (shop opened at 10am).
The Yamazaki tasting bar had the recent 3 sherry cask Essence of Suntory bottles for ¥300 per 15ml (excellent as I’d paid ¥1300 for 15ml in Sapporo), along with the full Yamazaki/Hakushu/Hibiki range. However, only the Yamazaki 12Yr single casks were available, no sign of the equivalent Hakushu and Hibiki ones. Also the 1986 Yamazaki sherry cask that you could sample there has all gone.
Thanks for the detailed review. Did you buy any bottles of the Akashi? Not sure what bottling of the 10YO sherried you saw but the last one I bought was one of the better ones!
Not sure how much a highball is at the rugby (though I do have an Aussie mate there for the RWC) but you could have had a shit load of wicked Yama 12 highballs if you bought a bottle and just asked for soda : )
I didn’t, we’ve already got quite a few bottles to take home and I sort of feel with Akashi I can take it or leave it, although will hopefully get to try some before I go. I think this is the one you reviewed and rated highly.
Just seen a small kiosk near Gate 13 of Sakae subway in Nagoya selling Yama 12 (¥24k), Hakushu 12 (¥39k) and Hibiki 17 (¥46k). However they also had Hibiki Blenders Choice for ¥12k which is pretty good all things considered.
They’re selling highballs at the stadium for the RWC, although much cheaper to pick up a few of the Suntory cans at a nearby convenience store before hand!
It seems that it is easier to buy Japanese whisky in London than in Japan. Yamazaki 12 for GBP 120, Hakushu 12 for GBP 130, Yamazaki 18, Hibiki 17, 21 also available
Opened a few Mars single casks last night – both bought in Australia. First was a tsunuki ageing which was very good. Second was the Mars / Voyager Estate wine cask finish which has a great nose and plenty of rich berry flavours. I believe both are Australian exclusives through the local importer. Not strictly on topic but I thought of interest. One bought through Dan Murphy’s, one Nicks.
Heading back to Japan today, first time back since 2017. Visiting Yoichi and hoping to pick up the distillery Exclusive “Sherry and Sweet” etc but otherwise not optimistic about much. Will probably focus on Scotch that is Japan/Asia only. Also got yours booked of Akashi and Yamazaki. What’s the score with duty free now? Last time I was able to score a Chichibu Single Cask at Narita but guess those days are long gone?
The airport is a lottery, so I guess it’s up to the individual if they want to risk leaving space in their duty free allowance for fluking an airport score. Last November when we where leaving there where a few things including Hibiki 21 with the fancy label for Y50k but I had already reached mine/our limit. Could have risked it but if busted in Australia you don’t just pay the duty on the overs but on everything you have.
Good hunting!
Has any tried the Nikka Yoichi DIstillery Limited Blended Whisky, (NAS, 40% ABV) offered at the Visitor’s Center?
It has a gold potstill and a blue stripe on the front label with a fair amount of gold lettering. I can’t find tasting notes anywhere and prefer to consume my drinking allotment from the single cask offerings at the bar. I believe the price was 6000Y for 500ml.
It’s ¥3000 for 500ml at the distillery. Described as a blend and believe it’s a mixture of Yoichi and Coffey grain. The single cask 10Yr available at the Bar for ¥1000 per 15ml was excellent.
For other availability at the distillery, the flavour profile range was ¥6700 per 500ml, could also buy it in 180ml and plenty of stock. No sign of the 2000s bottle anywhere. A shop at Yoichi station had some standard Yoichi for ¥4500 and Nikka 12 for ¥8400.
I have heard that they are discontinuing the 2000s serious. Will probably come out with 2010s soon.
Not a Japan story, but here in LA, I walked into my local supermarket the other day and found several Yamazaki 12’s for sale at $99 each, or $89 if you bought 6 liquor items total (including the Yamazaki). I picked up 4 of the Yama 12’s and bought 2 bottles of cheap $3.00 wine, which allowed me to get the 10% discount on everything.
The Supermarket it called Pavilions if anyone’s interested (which is owned by Safeway).
I don’t know if this means a large shipment of Yama 12 has hit the US again, or this was just a lucky score. But I suggest keeping an eye out if you do live in California.
Seems to me there has been large shipments of both Yamazaki and Hakushu 12 to a number of different countries. No complaints but what happened to Hakushu 12 being discontinued? Unfortunately looking at over $US200 for either Downunder. Mostly has nothing to do with shipping costs or even retail mark ups….our government just loves to tax the shit out of booze! In saying that there are no restrictions here on how much liquor we can personally ship in from any country in the world.
Hakushu 12 was only “discontinued” in Japan, (and possibly some other parts of the world), which, of course, is ironic that the country that produces it, can’t even buy it. But then again, every time I go to Japan and see Evan Williams 12 & 23, or Wild Turkey 13, or Blantons Gold & SFTB, and think how come they never sell this in the US?
I was told that by one Suntory rep here in the US they would still be getting Hak 12s in the US. But obviously everyone has already jacked the prices up to discontinued levels.
Flew to Tokyo over the Labor Day weekend for a quick whiskey hunt and Hakushu Distillery visit. Mostly hit the places suggested in whiskey Richard’s Aug 2019 “where to buy” guide. Unfortunately didn’t find much I wanted to buy at the price points I wanted to buy at. Here’s the haul for the trip:
Kanosuke New Born 2018 – Whiskey Plus – $30
Akkeshi New Born Foundation 4 – Yoshiike Ueno (also widely available at Bic) – $39
Taketsuru 17 – Mega Donki – $224
Hakushu Distillery Exclusive – Hakushu Distillery – ¥1440
Yama 12 Mini – Hakushu Distillery (combo pack with smoked bacon) – Forgot
Hibiki 17 Mini – ANA F cabin – Free?
https://i.imgur.com/nw9AObB.jpg
I arrived at Hakushu Distillery at 10:30am, and as I entered I saw Japanese customers on their way out, presumably having visited just to buy at the gift shop. So visit the gift shop right at opening if you want a shot at the 18/21 or 25/30 range bottles. Even Hibiki Harmony, of which there were 17 bottles at 10:30am, was all gone by noon. The highlight of the distillery visit and maybe the entire trip was having 15ml pours of Yamazaki 25, Hakushu 25, and Hibiki 30 for ¥8700 at the distillery bar.
https://i.imgur.com/rQf7hIv.jpg
On Tuesday I had a choice to either head to Narita early in the morning to check duty free or go to Ginza Mitsukoshi to participate in a Suntory aged whiskey purchase lottery. These are the same “airport exclusive” bottles sold at airport duty free (e.g. Kacho Fugetsu) and at the same MSRP. Since I had just two weeks earlier gotten two bottles of H21 and one bottle of Hakushu 18 from Narita relatively late in the day (once at 11am, and once at 2pm) I decided to head to the lottery event. Unfortunately my number was not drawn until the very last bottle, and only Hakushu 18 was available, so I decided to pass. Didn’t have any luck at the airport either– all the good stuff had been picked clean. Such is the whiskey hunting life.
https://i.imgur.com/w2n2Fyc.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/vwLdtu6.jpg
On my flight back I had the cabin attendant pour the John Walker King George V and took the Hibiki 17 to go.
Interesting Jashsu. Thanks for the report.
Luckily I have plenty of mid range 12y to 21y Suntory bottles, that will have to last me for a few years until stocks improve and the craziness subsides.
Its all too hard for me to bother at the moment.
Mitsukoshi’s online shop had a new Chichibu (6yr first fill bourbon) up today for probably 5 seconds before it sold out. Only 50 bottles were available, one per person.
https://mitsukoshi.mistore.jp/onlinestore/product/0150900000000000000001144046.html
With such a small release, I assume there will be some in Mitsukoshi & Isetan stores at some point, if you’re lucky enough to be there at the right time.
Akashi have released a new 3 yr Imo Sherry Cask Whisky. I believe based on my reading that its aged in sherry casks then used for storing sweet potato shochu (Imo shochu). Tasting notes say sweet and spicy with a nuance of imo shochu. 6000 yen.
https://shop.ei-sake.jp/products/86
Yep, heard the same. Thanks
New Mars Limited Edition 2019 up on Amazon for late September shipping. Based on the last one I imagine there will be plenty to go around!
I’m following up on this one for myself. In the meanwhile can you share the Amazon link?
https://www.amazon.co.jp/シングルモルト駒ヶ岳-リミテッドエディション-2019-700ml-化粧箱入り
Hopefully that works. I feel like that’s a bit above the odds (last one was 8000 yen from memory) so holding off for now.
Unfortunately(at least from when I try to open it), the link does not open to the whisky.
https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%B7%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B0%E3%83%AB%E3%83%A2%E3%83%AB%E3%83%88%E9%A7%92%E3%83%B6%E5%B2%B3-%E3%83%AA%E3%83%9F%E3%83%86%E3%83%83%E3%83%89%E3%82%A8%E3%83%87%E3%82%A3%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A7%E3%83%B3-2019-700ml-%E5%8C%96%E7%B2%A7%E7%AE%B1%E5%85%A5%E3%82%8A/dp/B07WTDCDDR/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me=
Yep that worked. Still cheaper than Chichibu!
This one seems to be lacking an age statement. Which is rather disappointing, considering that Mars seemed to be upping their age statements on other Komagatake releases from 3 years to 5 or 6 years.
The 2018 Limited Edition also lacked an age statement, so maybe that’s just how this series goes.
Despite a very good on score on Whiskybase of 88/100 on 14 votes, I found the 2018 LE a little underwhelming compared to most of the Mars bottling’s I’ve tasted over the last year.
I’ve been advised young so think the minimum of 3 years and mainly ex boubon casks. Y7800 ex local tax
Just ordered two at Amazon JP at ¥8,200 each tax included.
If you have a shipping address in Japan and are desperate for some old Japanese whisky, Isetan’s online shop has a collection of 5 Boutique-y Whisky bottles, including a 19yr Karuizawa, for a mere ¥950,000…
https://isetan.mistore.jp/onlinestore/product/0110900000000000000001136740.html
Thanks for the tip, I ordered 6 of the collection : ) Pocket change really : )
Just add an update for everyone – today was my whiskey hunting day in Tokyo and it’s not a pleasant picture. Tried smaller places out in Ebisu, Gotanda, Akhihabara. No luck. In fact the pawn shops are advertising to buy whiskies.
Finally I took advice from comments below and went to Ginza – 777 Ginza which is the flagship whiskey store. They had one bottle of 21yr Hibiki for 70000 yen ($1000 aud), 12yr Yamazaki for just shy of 20000 yen. If you spend over 20000 yen you get your 8% tax back if you’re taking it out of country. Their Hibiki Blenders Choice was 17000 – I settled on Blenders Choice around the corner for 9500 yen.
Big Liquer had no other Yamazaki or Hibiki.
The reselling market is driving prices crazy.
If you have someone with good language skills the pawn shops might be the ones with all the stock.
Good luck those that are hunting.
Thanks. Picked up a bottle of Yama 12 for $AUD230 a few weeks back in a local QLD(Australia) store so things have truly gone insane when it costs more at exchange rate in the country of origin!
I was just thinking maybe I should re export Japanese whiskey back to Japan. The local vintage cellars has lots of options all of sudden their prices don’t seem crazy!!
Yeah, the old established distilleries are definitely getting squeezed. I went to Zeotrop last night (went for the first time in 2012) and its kinda sad times there too. Still a lot of rares/exclusives, but a lot of the wall is now Akashi.
Poor Horigami-san. On the other hand he’s probably still doing good tourist business, from people who don’t know anything about Japanese whisky. And he’s got the shortest hours of any bar in Shinjuku. So he’s getting a decent night’s sleep.
Despite the fact that Westerners made that bar viable long term he has no love of the Giajin. Even though I have a long history going to Zoetrope and he knows me by sight, he has been quite rude to people I know and I’ve heard more than one story of him taking the piss out Westerners in Japanese to other Japanese not realising that some of the Westerners understood Japanese so knew what he was saying. I did say after my last visit I won’t be going back.
Yeah, I’ve heard him talk smack about Westerners before, in Japanese. And his disposition has always been a bit surly to some people. Sometimes it was justified, like the jerks who came into the bar demanding to be seated, when the bar was full and refusing to wait outside. Sometimes it was uncalled for. But that’s just kind of the way he is. I kind of heard about him in his previous life, as a Game Designer, and he wasn’t much different then. At least, that’s what I heard from people I know who worked with him.
Thanks for your long time experinece mate where so may are so unquailified! In fact I often refer to back to those who have more experinece such as yourself than I do. I do remember however when I first went to Zoetrope back in 2009 and Horigami san was far more congenial….
VC currenttly has Yamazaki 12 AUD$239 & Hakushu 12AUD $299. Considering Hakushu 12 was supposed to be discontinued last year my locat VC had 5 sitting on the shelf and they weren’t dusty old boxes.
Looks like some clever marketing going on with Suntory.
They are very secretive and the two distilleries are massive. The shortage may well be artificial to a degree.
Maybe…..there are those age statement bottling’s that are called as a shortage….here in Australia Yama 12 is at one time not available then there is some availability…but Suntory never mentioned Yama 12 as discontinued. It was however announced last year that Hakushu 12 would be discontinued yet…. here in Australia and I recently saw was an image on a page from the US, Hakushu 12 seems, at least from time to time, still being released. I also know from anectodel evidence that if you turn up at the right time at the Yamazaki Distillery there are bottles of the Yama 18YO and Hibiki 21. I personally saw bottles of LE Hibiki 21 at Tokyo Narita Airport last November price at Y50,000. IMO Suntory, however slightly, has more older stock laid down that they can distribute on a limited basis compared to Nikka.
Where did you go in Ebisu? Kinokuniya and Wine Shop Yamamoto?
I haven’t found anything good in those shops, except HTF bourbon, in months. They used to be less known places, where I could find a good surprise or two. Now everybody can find it on their smart phone and it’s been emptied, just the same as every place else.
Actually you only need to spend 5,000 to get tax free on liquor in Japan, if they support Tax free. Also as far as I know the Japanese pawn shops buy liquor for far less than it’s worth Then go on Yahoo Auction to sell it for far more than it’s worth. I never see them selling it directly to customers in the shop.
Sorry, my mistake! I am referring to Tokyo area but mainly in Shinjuku, Asakusa, and other tourist spots
I’ll have a long layover in Tokyo (first week of September) and plan to search for Yamazaki 12/18. I have but a few hours and would like to know where would be best to try, even if overpriced. Any help will be deeply appreciated 🙂
Can you advise how you would get from the airport, find a store even if recommended, then get back to the airport in a few hours?
You may actually get lucky at the airport.
I’ll arrive to Haneda and I have to move to Narita for my next flight. Planned on taking the train to Tokyo Station. I’ve been told they have a few bottles at LH, the 18 around 75K yen have no idea how much for the 12. Should I risk my luck or play it safe and buy it at LH. That’s the question 😉
I don’t think anyone could answer whether you should risk your luck. If you’ve read through the comments in this post you’ll notice even experience punters like Metaman can struggle to find anything of note even allowing for a lot more time than you have.
Funny thing about LH is no matter how many times I go there I get lost. That underground mall at Tokyo Station is a rabbit’s warren.
Liquor Mountains prices are as over the top as anywhere. If I was heading to Ginza I’d probably try my luck at the Shinanoya Branch there and the Isetan Mitsukoshi Department Store. Again, you might actually have some trouble finding either the Liquor Mountain or Shinanoya.
I would still check out what they have at Duty Free but from memory I can’t remember if you only pass the Duty Free stores at Departures not Arrivals. Someone else here could answer that for sure.
Narita has a duty free shop in the arrival baggage claim of terminal 1. It sells liquor, but I only saw scotch at it. I assume Haneda has it, too. Better chance to find something in the duty free at Narita departures.
Since you are heading to Tokyo Station I’d get off at Shimbashi and hit Shinanoya, Liquor Express, liquor mountain, Big Liquor, and walk over to Yurakcho station and hit Bic Camera, before heading to Tokyo Station. Then you can check out LH last before getting on the Narita Express.
Thanks. I’ll follow yours and dramtastic’s suggestions and let you know how it went. 🙂 Maybe I’ll be lucky after all
How long exactly is your layover? Liquor express (navinavi.jp – in japanese) has a store in Ginza near the other big shops. They have a lot of rare bottles but dont open til 3 or 4 pm.
If money is no object, take Narita Express to Tokyo Station (75 minutes each way) and go to Liquor Hasegawa in the Yaesu Underground Mall right there at the station. There are two LH’s. oOne is close to the Daimaru department store. That’s the one you want to go to. But trust me it aint cheap. The other one may also have Yama 12/18 at a high price. The other option is Liquors Express, or Liquor Mountain in Ginza.
If your layover is in Haneda, you can get to Shimbashi Sta (Ginza) or Tokyo Station, in about 30 to 35 minutes. Shimashi Station is closest to Liquors Express, or Liquor Mountain, but it’s still a 10 minute walk.
@beren
Just for reference the prices today at Liquor Mountain
Yama 12. 19800 plus tax
Hakushu 18 75000? Plus tax
Hibiki 21 68000?
Prices are little bit fuzzy for the latter two but that’s what you would stand to pay if you stopped by today. There is no guarantee they will have it when you arrive. Liquors Hasegawa is more likely to have what you want, though it will be at a severe markup.
Take the Haneda limousine bus bound for Tekko Building. Drops you off close to Daimaru department store. Hasegawa is about three stores down on the underground level.
Bus info (Haneda to Tokyo Station / Tekko Bldg)
https://www.limousinebus.co.jp/en/areas/bus_stop/hnd/tokyo/dep/276/3
Thank you all for your support. I’m still in Tokyo though I was supposed to be flying now my flight is delayed. It was LH who delivered…all the others not only were dry as the desert but gave me tired looks as in “damn people stop asking” hahah. The Shinanoya guy went as far as saying, literally “is the end of Yamazaki”. In any case, I went to both LH in Tokyo Station and besides the Yama (for the staggering amount of 25K) I got a Killerran which is impossible to get in my country and I was hunting for one. Now I can only hope the bottles fly safe with me. Thanks again!
Anyone tried Mars Maltage Cosmo Manzanilla Cask Finish? Thanks
Not I….
I tried it in a bar. It was better than I was expecting (definite sherry influence, but not overly so), but I wasn’t expecting a lot. I also haven’t tried the standard version so I can’t compare them.
I did buy a bottle when it was available on the Hombo store before I had the chance to try it, but I wouldn’t buy a second one and it’s not in my queue for opening soon.
Thank you. Bought two. Will drink one and keep one.
Hello everyone, I would like to ask is there any recommended good whisky shop to buy Scotch or Bourbon as well as Japanese whisky? Thank you
Would help if you let us know what area/s you will be in?
Sorry, my mistake! I am referring to Tokyo area but mainly in Shinjuku, Asakusa, and other tourist spots
Shinanoya Kabukicho. Usually has over 100 bourbons and 300 Scottish Whiskies. They usually have around 6-8 of their own private cask bottling’s so look for those. They are usually on an end shelf near the bourbons. 1-12-9 Kabukicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Tatehana Building 1F
https://shinanoya.co.jp/shop/shop.html
Also if you are a bourbon fan and you want to taste a bunch I can recommend Ken’s Bar. He also has his own Ken’s Choice range of bourbon’s brought in from the US and further matured at the Chichibu Distillery in Japan https://www.facebook.com/boubonwhiskykensbar/
Thanks! I had a look and they did have some Shinanoya specific bottlings. Also found a small shop that had very expensive Hibiki 17, 21, Yamazaki 12, 18, Hakushu 18 which I didnt buy
Has anyone tried or heard anything about Moon Glow 2019? It won an award last year, but I cant find any reviews on this year’s release. There are bottles here and there but priced at about $100 USD.
This is all I know
https://www.nomunication.jp/2019/05/10/moon-glow-limited-edition-2019/
I was offered a bottle and declined. Price was Y9194 but that was less tax.
I bought the Moon Glow LE 2018 last year. and popped the bottle. In terms of taste (personal), I would rank this above the Yama 12 and slightly below the Hibiki 17. Not a lot of info on it but it is mostly a Japanese blend with old distillates I believe. For the price it is totally worth it. My bottle is now empty though…
Thanks for the tip! There are still bottles of Moon Glow LE 2018 in a handfull of shops around Tokyo – still selling for 9,200-9,800 yen too – same as the 2019 version.
I went to a liquor mountain in Ginza and did a side by side pour of the 2018 and 2019. The 2018 is distinctly better – smoother – but the 2019 has more of the (good) wine barrel funk.
Hey All!
Just moved to Tokyo last week for work on a 3 year work Visa. Gonna be scouting out far and wide for different whiskies and can report what I find if folks are interested. So far, I’ve scouted Tokyo Station, bits of Ueno, Ginza and Asaksa (plus some dept stores & DonQ’s in between).
In summary, shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, but most spots are dry or incredibly overpriced. I think the only thing of note is Moon glow 2019 and some Hibiki Blender’s chocie. Hasegawa main store in Tokyo station has the Suntory high end stuff for $600+.
If you got major cash, you can hit bottle-off in Ueno for some rare stuff…
Will continue scouting. Let me know if you guys have any requests…
PS: it seems Hasegawa will do 10ml pours for a buck or more on a lot of their bottles (Japanese or otherwise).
Hi, Do you happen to have seen Hibiki 30 year? And what is the price range in Japan currently?
Liquor express (navinavi.jp) in kabukicho, Shinjuku last night. Looks like they have a bottle of hibiki 30 for $4,200 after tax (429,840 yen), 398,000 pretax. A few years back, I saw a bottle in Fukuoka for $3000.
Liquor express usually has a lot of rare bottles, but you obviously pay a premium for them. They have a location in Ginza and Ueno too.
Hi Everyone,
So Japan has been a bit of a bust finding and buying things in shops. The only I only found were a few of the Akkeshi and Kannosuke New Born (Ridiculously priced for only 200 ML). Still, I had a bunch of Mars Bottles to pick up from my contact in Japan (including several limited releases), but those were waiting for me. The only mainstream bottle I saw with reasonable abundance was Hibiki Blender’s Choice all in multiple shops. Most at around 10,000 Yen. If you’re willing to travel to Saga City, the Tamaya department store still has a few Mars 2019 Double Cellars there.
I also picked up a Suntory AO. I found it in some shops for 5,000 yen. Some other (I’m looking at you Liquors Express) had it for twice the price, while other shops had nothing.
Shinanoya was releasing an Akashi Ume-Whisky blend, as an exclusive bottle, for about 2,200 yen. I grabbed one of those.
Found a couple of Nikka 12’s but they were now selling for 7,500 (they were 5,500 pre-discontinuation). Bought them both for posterity.
Also picked up a Wakatsuru Jyunenmyo – Half Decade, at Yamaya, for about 3,200 yen. I’m wondering if this is made up of their actual product from when they first opened the distillery 5 years ago? It seems like it’s a blended world whisky, so it’s possible some of it comes from their own distillery. But I wouldn’t put it past them that they’re still using all imported whisky, like their 10 Year Moon Glow.
Small story about the state of Japanese whisky here. There’s a huge drug store chain here in Kyushu called Mori Drug. They have a liquor section, and in recent past months, I could find Yama 12 and Yama 18 for a reasonable price (8,000 for the 12 and 20,000 for the 18). Well, I went to the local Mori Drug and found they had a couple of bottles of the Yama 12 on the shelves, but now it was selling for 18,000 Yen. And they weren’t moving in the 2 weeks I’ve been here. This is a discount drug store chain that doesn’t usually mark up the prices on any of their products. So either corporate is trying to cash in, or the SRP on Yama 12 has just doubled here in Japan.
I’ve got maybe one more Whisky hunt in me, tomorrow. After that, it’s time to bring home what I’ve got.
Last day of Whisky Hunting was a complete and total bust. Nothing in Fukuoka anymore, except Hibiki Blenders Choice. Fortunately I got a parting gift of a Mars Papillon L. Japonica from my contact. Just came in this week.
Off to Tokyo for a couple of days, then back to the US. I doubt there will be anything worth picking up in Tokyo.
I haven’t been there yet but will be in November so if you get a chance you might like to check out this bar. If there’s nothing to buy then at least there should be something interesting to taste here.
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=https://www.barkage.com/&prev=search
I’m also going to head here just to try their 37 year old Sherry Cask Hakushu which you can see if you scroll down their Facebook page. They own the cask so hopefully there are bottles left.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Salon-De-Shimaji/110123606397067
Sadly I couldn’t go Saturday and, yesterday it was closed. I’ll have to try next time.
What little opportunity I had to visit liquor shops in Tokyo, confirmed my expectations. It is a bad time to shop for Whisky in Japan. Other than the Hibiki Blender’s Choice, it’s pretty much impossible to find anything good or good, but reasonably priced. Yama 12 is going for 16,900 to 20,000 yen.
I did have fun helping uninformed tourists avoid the fake Japanese whisky. Saved them from buying some Kurayoshi 18 and Pointed them in the direction of where to get Hibiki Blender’s Choice.
I’d be very happy with the Mars Papillon pickup. I’ve generally really liked them and they are increasingly getting hard to find (and expensive on the auction sites). I believe the new one is a 6 year or so vs most previous around 3-4 years from memory but may be wrong.
I also like the Blender’s Choice Hibiki. Initial taste at a bar I found the finish a little bitter, but I brought a bottle home and am not getting that now. Have in fact been finding it delicious and would happily pick up another bottle if I was in Japan.
Unless Mars have just release another Le Papillion I believe among the others I have I also have the latest one C.thyodamas and it is a 3 year old from a Sherry Butt bottled in Feb 2019. One of the cool things is it is also medium peated.
Mars did also release a Single Cask 6YO Heavily Peated(50PPM) Komagatake this year and as I have this as well I can vouch that it is definitely HEAVILY peated and more in a Scottish style with tons of ash and medicinal notes(think Laphroaig).
Yes there is another new one. Lightly peated american white oak 6 years (gifuchou). It has popped up on a few bar blogs etc.
I tried the 6 year komagatake at the distillery in april and at a bar in Tokyo. Good find!
They also recently released a Cosmo Manzanilla Cask finish. Did manage to buy that but really nothing to get too excited about. Cheap though.
Would you have a picture or a link(just one) for this 6YO Le Papillion?
Thanks
Here’s a recently completed auction, with corresponding ridiculous sale price.
https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/h401224968
The last couple of Mars releases have gone like this also (first at the distillery, some local places, etc., then eventually a lottery on their website for whatever is left).
Yep I think I normally pay around 10-11000 yen retail. Hard to keep up with Mars though apart from everything else they release, I guess there is a lot of butterflies to go through : )
Good to see Mars release a coupe 6 years old whiskies this year……if you can get them!
Sent through an email with multiple links.
Hi David,
You can only send through a max of 2 links that why I mentioned only need one : )
Yeah, the Marsmalt L. Japonica was another Mars Stealth Release. I was fortunate to get one. It’s a strange thing with these Le Papillion releases. Sometimes they open it up to everyone on their lottery system, and sometimes it just shows up in specific liquor shops that buy and carry Mars Products without notice.
Bar Kage is a good spot. Sadly, that 37yr Hakushu is no longer available….it was stunning!
I have opened a bottle of Junenmyo, its pretty good! its blended with imported scotch, but for the price, its a good and easy to drink!
I found the mother lode of rare Japanese whiskeys, but of course none were for sale. I really worked it hard too, not even asking to buy a bottle until we were 30 min into the conversation. The owner took me into the back room and showed me a couple of his prized possessions including a 35 year ages Taketsuru!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/SNxC8o9HZFqZppdLA
He explained how hard it is as a shop owner with important customers (whiskey bar owners) begging for bottles. He must display the bottles in his store or he wouldn’t be taken seriously, but he has to slowly and carefully distribute bottles to his top, long term, important relationship customers slowly over time.
I asked him if he had something that he would be willing to part with and he told me to wait for a minute while he rummaged through his stock, muttering about where he put it. Sadly he came up empty handed, and asked me to come back and see if he found it.
I think he was testing to see whether my story held up (having in-laws living nearby and visiting on a regular basis with my family).
While I was there, a foreigner came in saww the bottles of 15 y Yoichi, 21Y Taketsuru, 12 and 15Y Hakushu, and many others, and began “demanding” prices for each. He left abruptly and rudely when he was told they weren’t for sale. I’m sure he probably felt that he was being singled out as a foreigner, but actually even a local would probably have been told the same.
These shop owners simply need to stretch their inventory to the customers that keep their business alive, and it ain’t selling one-time bottles to enthusiasts.
Hopefully I’ll score something modest and make a relationship that I can revisit next year when I’m here again.
I had a bottle of that 35YO Taketsuru but sold it along with 84 other bottles 5 years ago because I couldn’t afford to drink them! Have tasted and one of the great Japanese Whiskies in my opinion and far beyond any of the other Taketsuru’s of lesser age.
Any of the regular contributor’s to this thread will tell you in the current climate it’s all about building relationships.
I’ve been asked many times for a quick solution to buying Japanese Whisky. In other words, to give away all the tips that took me years of work to acquire. Nope, if you want it, you need to work as hard as the rest of us did!
Good luck with your new contact and hope it’s a fruitful relationship.
Hey guys. I’m headed to Tokyo for the next few days and will then be in Osaka for a few days. I have a few spots I always check in Tokyo but don’t really have any go-to’s in Osaka. Does anyone have any ideas? Also, I’ll be in Chichibu one morning. Are there any shops in or near Chichibu that are worth checking out?
Osaka is big city! Might be easier for others to assist if you can advise what area your’e in unless of coarse you have nothing else to do but traipse all over the city for 3 days looking for whisky : )
There is a list of Kansai Stores here but not all directly in Osaka
http://whiskiesrus.blogspot.com/
There is also a number of Liquor Mountains. Just look up Liquor Mountain Osaka. Anything rare though you will pay ridiculously over the top prices.
Cannot advise of any place in Chichibu and as you would know, most shops will not open till at least 10am. From memory I think you could buy the regular White Label Blend at the train station. You could also private message on the CHichibu Distilleries Facebook Page and ask if they know of anywhere. They mostly all live in Chichibu town.
Thanks. I’m staying in Abeno in Osaka in case that spurs any good ideas!
A quick report from Tokyo where (as a beginner) I try to populate my personal bar with some Japanese “basics”. Your articles and reviews helped me a lot, thank you, it’s very pleasant to literally read your passion.
I tried to find the best quality with a voluntarily limited budget of 6000¥ per bottle.
Unfortunately despite my active hunt in department stores or liquor stores around ikebukuro. I can only confirm the lack of opportunities… Here are the classics I noticed. Not so much!
It was hard enough to find bottles of Yoichi and Miyagikyo Single Malt NAS: TOBU ikebukuro and one small liquor store also on west side. (I took one bottle of Miyagikyo as it seems a bit more complex than its Yoichi brother, 4200¥ before tax).
BIC Camera of ike also received 40 bottles of Yamazaki NAS yesterday (even not specified “Distiller’s reserve”, do you know if it’s the replacement or an even simpler version of the NAS?), ~4000¥. The time to go there all were gone, in one hour!? Would have it been a good choice? (Again, I’m a starter, not the same level as you, experts 😉).
I was surprised to see the Kirin Fuji Sanroku Signature Blend almost everywhere, ~4700¥. Not so much reviews exist for this edition. Any advice?
Of course, I could extend my hunt to other areas of Tokyo but it’s quite time consuming… I’ll have other occasions as my wife is Japanese, so I’ll report here next time.
Thanks guys!
Just back from a trip to Japan. Mixed feelings and successes.
Had really great visits to a few bars and there is definitely still a great variety of interesting whisky to be found. Most fun was at Bar Groovy in Kanda which had a reasonably wide selection of Ichiros Malts (including a large number of single cask bottling’s) as well as a number of the more recent Mars releases. A fantastic little bar and well worth a visit.
Shopping wise its fairly tough going. Saw very little in Tokyo, although Liquor Mountain Ginza had a great selection for tasting including the two series of Essence of Suntory and a few Mars whiskies (none available to buy). Some luck out of Tokyo and was able to buy two Mars Le Papillon releases as well as almost all the recent other Mars releases (Yakushima, Limited Edition 2018, Double Cellars etc etc). Enough there to keep me happy 🙂
All in a really enjoyable trip from a whisky perspective despite the obvious challenges.
What are your impressions of the Essence of Suntory assuming you tried them? Well done on all those Mars!
The peated Yamazaki was the nicest of the first series but reasonably straightforward, I didnt enjoy the Chita or Hakushu. I also tried the Montilla and Spanish Oak from the second series. Both sweet and the Montilla Wine Cask was very nice.
Of the whiskies I tried on this trip my favourites were the Mars 2019 Yakushima and recently released 6 year Komagatake. I also tried a delicious Chichibu release from Acorn at Bar Tsurukame.
Anybody get luck on the Mars Bottle Lottery? I won (the opportunity to buy) a Mars Double Cellars 2019. I purchased it, but I have a feeling it will be available in Fukuoka when I get there in May (probably cheaper, too).
Didn’t even know there was a lottery. Funny that it was for the Double Cellars. Would have thought a lottery would be for something like the latest Mars Le Papillon which is a single cask and only 464 bottles, where the Double Cellars is 3659 bottles. At any rate I’d ordered the 2019 Double Cellars back in January and I’m paying Y8000. Just waiting for my allocation of a bottle of the latest Le Papillon before I have them and a couple of bottles of the Akkeshi Mizunara Cask shipped home.
The new Le Papillon should be interesting as it is from a sherry butt and I think most of us that have had some experience with Mars Whisky, have found the sherry cask offering’s more hit and miss than their American White Oak and Bourbon Cask offering’s.
The Le Papillion was also in the lottery. No luck on that one. There was a 3rd bottle as well, I forgot, but it was one of the more larger produced bottles like the Double Cellars.
There were 4 separate lotteries in total.
Double Cellars 2019
Tsunuki Aging 2018
Le Papillion bottled in Aug 2018 (previous release)
Le Papillion mentioned above
I entered for all of them and won (the opportunity to buy) nothing.
Not sure if anyone else knows of these but I also managed to secure
Mars Single Cask Komagatake 2012 6YO cask 1493 50 ppm 60%
Mars Komagatake Yakushima aging 2015-2019 58%’
also
Ichiro’s Malt & Grain Japanese Blended Whisky Limited Edition 2019 is due to be released within the next couple of weeks or so.
Have you tried the Mars sherry cask put out a couple years ago by Mitsukoshi Isetan?
I took a quick look through your posted reviews but couldn’t find it.
Have a bottle but haven’t opened yet. Also have a bottle of it’s counter part the Super Heavily Peated which has been opened, just haven’t written up any tasting notes yet.
Sorry for being ignorant but where can I even apply for the lottery /allocation of upcoming releases? Thanks.
Bought a double cellars at shinanoya last week, didn’t even know there was a lottery! Haven’t seen the two other bottles around though
New Komagatake from ePower available for order on their website. I think this was the one they were selling at the Chichibu Matsuri.
Vatting of a Bourbon barrel selected by ePower and an American White Oak cask selected by Bar Barns. Looks like they’re just under 5 years old.
http://www.shop.epower.jp/index.php/whisky/epower-whisky/product/587-the-double-cask-komagatake
Max 2 per person. I don’t think they ship outside Japan and payment options are limited to bank transfer or COD.
Thanks for the info. Just ordered one.
I am always too late to the game…. Thanks for the info!
Dang! Missed it, too!
A reminder to everyone that unless something changes, the Akkeshi Foundations 3 Mizunara Cask will be released on the 5 of March so keep an eye out.
Hi All,
Haven’t posted for a while, but have been back to Japan quite a few times since last time. This trip is winding up and we’ve just left Takayama. Stumbled across a liquor store with bountiful supplies of age statements (Hibiki 12, 17, 21 / Yamazaki/ Hakashu / etc). They had miniatures as well as ?180 ml? bottles of some (like Hibiki 17). They had signs everywhere re no photography so I didn’t take photo. I did note that:
Hibiki 21 priced at ¥69,800
Hibiki 17 smaller bottle ¥29,800
Hibiki 17 miniature ¥5,980
Location/directions in case of use to anyone:
– exit east from Takayama Station
– turn left to head north
– go past Takayama Nohi Bus Center along footpath for perhaps 200-300 metres and you’ll see the liqueur store on your left
oh wow… so high
Akashi Tequila Cask is an interesting one for me – lots of ripe pineapple fruits and long layers of finish. I have not experimented with drops of water yet but intend to do so.
Pro Tip: Be polite and humble when you ask the owner/cashier if they have any of the good stuff in the back. Shops in Japan still regularly do get Yamazaki Nas, 12, 18, Hibiki Blender’s choice, 21, Hakushu Nas, 18, Chichibu Limited Edition, White, Red, Green, and Gold Leaves and sell for retail price. However, they are almost always hidden in the back storage and reserved for VIP customers and locals. So often I see foreigners barge into the shop and rudely ask/demand for Japanese whisky. They probably have no idea they are being loud and rude, but this type of gesture will get you nowhere in Japan and is hugely frowned upon. Especially these days with such high demand, a lot of shops really dislike dealing with rude foreigners.
With that said, Shinanoya Ginza just got in about a dozen Chichibu World Limited Editions. As I mentioned above, they store it in the back. The male cashier that’s kinda short and has long hair really dislikes foreigners. Saw so many tourists ask and get rejected, when I saw him holding plenty of stock in the back! Good luck…
Has anyone been seen Hibiki 17 minis in Tokyo lately?
No, but Isetan has the yamazaki 12yrs minis a few days ago.
I saw them in Isetan Kyoto and it was limited to 5 per customer
There were two Chichibu bottles up on the Isetan online store today, available for purchase from 10am JST and sold out in a minute or so. 27,000 yen (+tax) each, limited 2 each per person.
6yr Bourbon Barrel 2nd fill cask #1766
https://isetan.mistore.jp/onlinestore/product/0110900000000000000000997925.html
6yr Red Wine cask #2275
https://isetan.mistore.jp/onlinestore/product/0110900000000000000000997926.html
And, of course they’re already appearing on the auction sites for double the price.
If it goes like it did last year, people in Japan in late February / early March may be able to (briefly) find these on the shelf at the actual stores.
Hombo Shuzo (i.e. Mars) has redone their online store.
In the last year or two they seem to have switched to selling their whisky primarily on their Rakuten store front rather than their own store, but maybe they will switch back after this ‘renewal’. Nothing new there as of yet, however.
Anyone who had an account on their old shop needs to reset their password.
http://www.shop-hombo.jp/
I was wondering why the website disappeared early on. This explained why. Thank you.
I will be going to Niseko, but will go by Nikka in Yoichi to pick up some Peaty & Salty and anything else that looks good. I’ll follow up on that.
I will also be in Tokyo for a couple of days. I’ll hit the usual spots but I want to be sure to bring home a bottle of Hibiki 21. It looks like I could get a bottle through Amazon or a Rakuten store for around 55K. Are there any issues with having it delivered to a hotel?
Are there any better options?
Just got back from my visit to Niseko, Yoichi, and Tokyo.
If you are skiing and want to pick something up in Niseko, the Seiko Mart has Yamazaki & Hak NAS for 8,000 (yikes) and Miyagikyo for around 4500. I had a bottle of Hibiki 21 from a Rakuten shop for 50k delivered to my hotel, which worked nicely. Use Chrome with the Translate extension.
In Yoichi, I go mainly for the tastings of the 10 year old single casks (this time, #409293, Released Sept 21, 2018) on my visits. Where else can you have a shot of such great whisky at 1000y ?
The gift shop had the tasting sets (got a couple of the Salty and Peaty ) and the 2000’s (got 2) in the 180 ml format for around 2800 yen. I also bought a 180 ml bottle of the 12 year old Apple Brandy, but have not tasted yet. They had a new distillery exclusive NAS blend that was on offer for around 6000 yen. I could sort out that it was mainly comprised of Yoichi whiskies, but that is about it. Nikka 12 and Tsuru 17 (12K), and all other NAS’s were also available.
In Tokyo, I went to Liquor Mountain (tasted Hibiki Blenders Choice, but not for sale) and Shinanoya in Ginza (had some old bottles but pricey), the Big BIC Camera (no minatures) near Tokyo station, and Liquors Hasegawa in Yaesu ( had Nikka 12) and the MegaDonQ in Shibuya (Nikka 17 blend for just under 6000). The various Kurayoshi blends are getting more and more shelf space in DonQ and BIC.
At Narita, Terminal 1, I had an afternoon flight, so the Hibiki 21s at 50k were long gone. The Fuji Sanroku 18 Limited Edition Olorosso was available for 34,200 yen. I picked up a bottle of the Yamazaki 18 limited edition (box) for 50k after realizing that I would likely not be seeing it for less than that in the next 2 years or more. I never thought I would be paying 50k for bottles of H21 and Y18 (the last at Duty Free no less) and thinking that I was getting a (relative) bargain.
Was at Narita Terminal 1 yesterday and scored a bottle of Ichiro’s Travel Edition for Y27,000 and Nikka 12 for Y4,860. Those prices reflect 10% discount I get when I use my United card at ANA store! But all the Suntory Airport LE products were all sold out when I got there around 1400.
Someone may have already done so but can you please advise the details of this Ichiro’s Travel Edition? Age/cask type/single cask or not etc? Seems to be pricey for a Duty Free Chichibu! Or maybe they know the Chinese tourists don’t care about the price!
It really doesn’t have much info on the bottle. It liberality only says it’s 60.6% and bottled in 2018. Only 610 bottles produced. Can’t find anything more info about this bottle on the internet either… very interesting!
I don’t know how many versions there have been but I did find some info on one
https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/123118/chichibu-travel-exclusive
So I guess it’s time to say farewell to The Nikka 12, Nikka Coffey Grain & Nikka Coffey Malt. Nikka has announced their discontinuation. Grab them while you still can.
Where did you hear/see that? I’m looking on the web and can’t find anything.
Nomunication is reporting it.
Thanks mate, I posted a quick story about it.
A mate living in New Zealand grabbed me a bottle of the Nikka Premium Blend 12(a lot cheaper than in Australia) and I asked he could try and get me at least one more. I think he is going to grab some of the Coffey Malt/Grain for himself as it is also cheaper in NZ. I prefer Nikka from the Barrel anyway so not sure if I will grab any of the Coffey bottling’s.
For those in Tokyo, Liquor Mountain Ginza is celebrating it’s 1 year anniversary. Some premium sets with Japanese whisky, a Nagahama Red Wine Cask Prototype and a tasting of Akashi whisky today. Looks like 200 100ml bottles of the Nagahama in total, so not sure if still there. 3000 yen.
Found 6 bottles of Hibiki Blender’s Choice for Y10800 and 6 bottles of Ichiro’s LE World’s Blend for Y9720 in Tokyo. Grabbed one each! Ichiro’s were gone within 1-1.5 hrs. I got there just right after they stock the shelf. Saw the Hibiki first and grabbed a bottle right the way. When I was paying for it I saw couple locals grabbing a blue box and I was like that is Ichiro’s LE!! Pretty luck today.
Can you please be more specific on the location and/or the name of the store? Thank you.
It was Liquor Hasegawa North Store!!
Thanks. Good scores!!
Question for the regulars! I will be in Japan for 3-4 days in September. As last time when I visited I used a lot of time for finding not much, and that was 3 years ago then I’m not going to bother with the current market. Better to use the time visiting bars and just taste things instead! However how are distilleries for puchases? Yamazaki is basically early morning and very lucky I believe. Miyagikyo and Fuji Gotemba were perhaps main ones to try and visit for me – do they have anything interesting these days, or stripped bare/never stocked too? I was also thinking to visit Shizuoka, but presume they won’t have anything there (also will be on public transport so likely to take a long time!). In addition, is there good shops for Japanese exclusive single casks of Scotch whisky worth checking out?
I can answer your last question! Shinanoya almost always has Single Cask Bottlings of Scottish Whisky bottled for them. There was at least 5-6 from different distilleries when I was there last November.
Thanks! Will keep an eye on their online store and see what they have when I am over, and can drop by and pick up anything interesting!
I visited Fuji Gotemba last summer. The tour was nice, but there was absolutely nothing of interest to purchase, and many of their older whiskies were not even available to taste (even with a surcharge). The price for their standard offer bottles was also much higher than other local retail shops. Yamazaki was a nice visit. Lots to taste at their bar (for a surcharge) and they usually have a small distillery-only bottle to purchase in the gift shop.
Following
There will be a new version of the Mars Double cellars out at the end of January. The last one can still be found at retail, so hopefully not too challenging to track down. Has already popped up on Amazon but only on pre-order.
Thanks!
Just pre-ordered two from a rakuten site. One more left if you are interested.
I’ve ordered my bottle of the Mars Komagatake Double Cellars 2019. I don’t use Hombo’s Rakuten store but I know there are contributors that do. So if you see it come up on the Rakuten store please post the link : )
I remember one contributor post last year they didn’t want to pay that much for a young whisky they believed to be a novelty offering.
Who knows with new releases but as you can see, I liked the 2018 version.
http://www.thejapanesewhiskyreview.com/2018/03/04/mars-komagatake-double-cellars-2013-2018-46%abv/
Will do next time. It’s gone now.
https://item.rakuten.co.jp/emon-otodoke/1000579doublecellars2019/
I enjoy the first one, two thirds down and getting better.
Available on Amazon now. Slightly inflated price but with free shipping not too bad.
Shall we expect early Feb ordering for Mitsukoshi / Isetan high priced Ichiro’s & Komagatake again like last year?
Gotta comment to get email notifications of other people’s comments. 😉
I certainly hope so.
The Chichibus went up today at 10am JST, already sold out. No Komagatake this time.
I posted a reply with links to details but it is stuck in moderation at the moment.
Thanks for the info. Requests approval when 2 or more links in a comment. I’ve changed it to 3 or more but am going to leave it at that.
As per your comment with the links “sold out in a minute”. Not much chance for mere mortals!
My personal opinion is there are too many limited release/single cask Chichibu’s and there should be more bottling’s like the 2018 Heavily Peated that had 11,550 bottles. Basically, I think more of the casks should go into general releases so easier access for the average punter.
Couldn’t agree with you more, Brian!!
Absolutely agree about the limited releases, but it seems to be his shtick (card series, etc.) and is probably not a small factor in his ability to fund the second distillery for Chichibu after just a decade or so.
(Thanks for approving the other post. Noted on the link count limit.)
Most sensible thing I’ve heard in a long time.
Heading to tokyo next week! will report back if I find anything interesting
Forgot to respond awhile back. Was only in tokyo for a day and spotted the 5 year bourbon barrel akashi, the 3 year sake cask akashi, the komagatake 2018 limited edition, and nikka 12 all for their retail prices at Aeon in Ikebukero. Surprising how long the akashi stay on the shelves, that 5 year bourbon has gotten good reviews from all my friends that have tried it. Granted, the akashi are usually hit or miss so i guess its understandable… I didn’t purchase anything, but likely they are all still there if anyone is interested.
Thanks. I have tasting notes on both those Akashi’s just haven’t posted them yet. Bourbon Barrel has pretty straight forward first fill notes and flavors for a whisky of that age. Sake Cask, even though I have my notes, every time I taste it I’m not sure how much I like it. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Already posted my notes on the Mars 2018 LE.
The Nikka 12 is being replaced in April so worth grabbing I’d say. A whisky that improved for me over time.