Category Archives: News

Japanese Whisky- More Auction Crazyness!

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Many readers would have seen the report last month on the Bonhams Hong Kong Auction for fine and rare wines, cognacs and single malts, particularly in regards to the prices fetched for Japanese whisky. I read about it on Whiskies R Us at the time. Well a comment from a JWR reader attached to my post on the bottle of Ichiro’s Malt Ace of Clubs that sold for Euro605 on Whiskyauction, prompted me to dig a little deeper. So over to the Bonhams website to check out the individual prices on the various lots from this auction back on the 23 of May.
Now I have readers from over 80 countries and of those Hong Kong is in the top 5 for views. I would assume that other blogs about Japanese whisky would also have a very high readership from Hong Kong also. So, these good people from Hong Kong, and I’ve met a few, are enthusiastic and knowledgeable Japanese whisky fans. These whisky enthusiasts have a number of ways to source Japanese whisky, including from Japan itself. So who in Hong Kong decided to pay these sky high prices for whiskies that they could have bought a lot cheaper by other means? This was not just the case for Japanese whisky at this particular auction, but as far as I could tell, for many a Scottish whisky as well.
One of the examples used in the original article about this auction, was for 4 bottles of the last release of Ichiro’s Malt Card Series sold as one lot. This lot sold for $2914. When these were released earlier this year they could be had for about $450 for the set. We are talking more than 6 times the original price. There was a number of posts on Japanese whisky blogs about this release, so a reasonable time to get ready to buy if you were keen. Heck, it’s only a 4 hour flight from HK to Tokyo under 4 hours to Osaka. Against that auction price you could flown over to Japan for a couple of nights to pick them up and still saved yourself a huge chunk of dough. Even recently, The Whisky Exchange had the four of them for a sale at a retail price I think no more than around $850. Sure it was only a small allocation but if you were moderately switched on you could have bought them for that price plus delivery. Yes, TWE does ship to HK.
The next example I will use from the auction is a couple of Suntory whiskies sold as a single lot. The lot consisted of a bottle of Suntory Royal No Age Statement and a bottle of Suntory Signature Blend No Age statement. Both bottles had very low fill levels. This lot sold for the scarcely believable sum of $1687. You could buy these in Japan for about $150 for the pair and only because the Signature Blend sells for a decent price. The Suntory Royal that was sold as part of this lot can be bought any day of the week in Japan for about $10-15.
We can all make up our own minds if some of the prices paid at this auction were just a tad cuckoo. There is a saying however, about some people having more money than sense………..
Here is the link to the full list of items and their sale price.

New Release – White Oak(Akashi) 15 Year Old 58%abv

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Japanese Konara Oak Tree

The little White Oak Distillery has released it’s oldest expression yet. A 15 year old single malt that spent 12.5 years in Spanish Oak Sherry Casks then 2.5 years in Japanese Konara(Quercus Serrata) Oak Casks. Of course you are all familiar with Konara Oak aren’t you? Yeh thought not, me either. This is the first time that I know of, that this type of Japanese Oak Cask has been used to mature whisky. That fact alone makes this particular bottling a fascinating proposition.
Priced at Y10500 for a 500ml bottled and with an outrun of 795 bottles. I’m also glad to see that White Oak is sticking to it’s guns with their single cask releases and botting this one Non Chilled Filtered and No Artificial Coloring.
There seems to be a very small allocation for each of the retailers in Japan that stock this whisky, so if you see it and your keen on a bottle, they who hesitate most likely will miss out.

Mars Iwai Tradition Wine Cask Finish 40%

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I previously mentioned this bottling during my TIBS/WhiskyLive Tokyo 2013 report. Well it’s hit the retail shelves in Japan with an outrun of 2495 bottles finished in ex-red wine casks for about 12 months. Price is Y2310 for a 750ml bottle. For those not familiar with the history, Mars parent company Hombo Shuzo has been producing a variety of wines in the Yamanashi Prefecture of Japan for around 50 years. This was the 3rd bottling I tasted at the Hombo Shuzo(Mars) stand at the show. The first 2 were the “Komagatake” 22YO and the “Komagatake” Bourbon Barrel 24YO. After those two, the thought of being knocked out by a 40%abv blended whisky with no age statement finished in a wine cask seemed highly unlikely. Well I was knocked out by the quality of this whisky for the price and so was everyone else I talked to that tried it. Ok, it was only a single dram so it will not be until my bottles arrived that I can confirm, but initial impressions were that this will be right up there with the best value, quality daily drams anywhere in the world. Hmmm, I think I should buy a few more……….

Mars Iwai Tradition Blended Whisky 720ml 40% – Something New, Something Old

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Hombo Shuzo(Mars Whisky), release of new bottling’s continues this week. Well, in the case of this particular bottling it’s a repackaging and with Mars now receiving some well deserved exposure both domestically and internationally and a wider retail distribution(in Japan), more good news for the vibrancy of the Japanese whisky scene. The Awai Tradition is a malt and grain blend and a nice one at that. Retail price Y1850 for a 720ml bottle. There are still some of the old bottle style stock being sold side by side, same price, same bottle size. Here’s my review of the original bottle style which also won a IWSC Silver Medal in 2012.

Mars Iwai Tradition 720ml 40%abv.
Nose: Thick Manuka honey. Soft oak, sweet orange peel, dry sherry and toffee.
Palate: Manuka honey, raisins, all spice, dry sherry, toffee and a little smoke. Mouth coating.
Finish: Short on honey, toffee, oak, butter, sherry and gentle spices. Errs on the side of malt rather than grain.
Last Word: A great session whisky, I’ve already polished off 3 bottles.

Rating: 82/100

Ichiro’s Cards Series Retail News

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The Whisky Exchange has just listed the last 4 of the ‘regular’ Ichiro’s Malt Card series bottling’s. last-ichiros-card-series While not cheap, certainly a bargain compared to what another high profile closed Japanese whisky distillery product’s sell for. You can never predict how fast these will sell, but in Japan these last four sold out very quickly. As we know now there will be a bottling, maybe two, of the Joker, but I don’t know if these will be sold outside of Japan.

Auction watch. What a a difference an award makes – Mars 3 Plus 25 Pure Malt 28YO 46%

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So this whisky has won a couple of ‘whisky awards’ of late. As you will see from my notes, I was already a big fan back when it was first released. So what’s going on with this bottling outside of Japan a couple of years later. Now I follow whiskyauction fairly closely. I think this may be the first time I have seen this particular Mars bottling listed. Now I paid about Euro 115 in 2011. Bidding is currently at Euro 242. Auction finishes on the 8th of June. I’ll be tracking to see where this one ends up.

UPDATE 27/5/2013 – I’ll add that some retailers in Japan who did not stock this bottling when it was first released, now have it on the shelves with a ‘NEW’ tag. Price in Japan however, remains the same as in 2011.

Mars “Komagatake” Aged 22 Years 43%abv

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Yesterday saw the release of a new bottling from the Mars Distillery. This one is a blend of American White Oak and Sherry Cask matured whisky and aged for a minimum of 22 years. According to the press release a total of 4 casks were used. I tasted this one at TIBS/Whiskylive Tokyo last month and initial impressions were favorable. Full tasting notes will follow at a later date as I have placed my order. Only 1359 bottles available at a price of Y9500. A fair price I believe, especially for a 750ml bottle. For international shipping orders Auc-claude whiskies still has a few in stock at the time of writing. If you are in Tokyo try Liquors Hasegawa.
I don’t think they are going to have a problem selling these but I still encourage all Japanese whisky enthusiasts to get behind small distilleries like Mars. Look out for another release from Mars on the 5th of June. I’ll post on this one when it hits the shelves but I can tell you it was a big hit at TIBS/Whiskylive Tokyo amongst the people I talked to and is amazing value for the quality.

OUCH! Massive price hike on Yoichi Single Cask Whisky in Japan.

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This post mainly effects Japanese readers and hopefully isn’t a portent of things to come for Single Cask Yoichi prices outside of Japan which are already sky high.
I tasted the following at Whisky Live Tokyo a couple of weeks ago; Yoichi Single Cask 1988-2013 23YO Warehouse 25 #100212 62%
Very impressive whisky and I was looking forward to it’s release, hoping to buy a couple of bottles. Well it has now been released on Nikka’s Asahi Shop website for a whopping Y31500!
Now I purchased the last 2 bottling’s of Yoichi Single Cask from the same website(with a Japanese contacts help), and both cost me about Y19000, the younger one maybe a bit cheaper. One was a 1994 and the other a 1988, both bottled in 2012. Both are also excellent. So we are talking about a 50%+ price bump between the last releases and the latest. Now I firmly believe these are Y19000 bottling’s, the 1988 cask 100129 being one of my all-time favorite whiskies. But Y31000, that’s the sort of pricing that takes the wind out of my purchasing sails. Strangely enough, Miyagikyo Single Cask prices do not seem to have been effected, with the latest release on par with the previous bottling at Y8400 for a 2001-2013. So, Miyagikyo here I come(for now)!

And herein lies the problem!

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ichiros-malt-salon-de-shimaji-pen-x-shinanoya-1986-26yo-madeira-wood-finish-1383-55-3You’ll see in this post a picture of the latest collaboration between Ichiro Akuto of Venture Whiskies(Hanyu/Chichibu) and Shinanoya a liquor/fine food chain based in Japan. It is a 1986 26YO Hanyu finished in Madeira wood, bottled at cask strength with an outrun or 260 bottle’s. It’s official release was the 25th of April this year and I’m not sure it even made it to retail shelves before it sold. Places like this often advertise the product with the release date and those in the know and the coin to pay for this sort of gear, have already pre ordered. So why is this a relative knew phenomenon with Japanese whisky in Japan, not the ability to pre order, the fact that they are now doing it. In other words, the Japanese now have a growing appreciation of their home grown high end whisky.
When I first came to Japan 4 years ago, the first retail liquor store I visited was Shinanoya Shinjuku branch. They had 2 Owners Cask bottling’s from Suntory and Ichiro’s Malt The Game 1st Edition. I bought one of the Owners Cask Hakushu. I came back 6 months later and the other 2 bottling’s were still in stock, so I grabbed them. Nowadays something like Ichiro’s Malt the Game would pre sell before hitting the shelf. Not only that, it cost Y7900.
So, I get emails asking me to suggest places to buy Japanese whisky from people overseas travelling to Japan. When they turn up, mostly they can only find the standards, not the single cask stuff they read about on TJW Review.
So the local Japanese whisky appreciation scene has grown markedly in just 4 years, this often leaves ‘only’ the standard stuff for whisky fans from other countries when they come a knockin’ for the good stuff when they get here. As I wrote in the heading, herein lies the problem, at least with buying much of the good stuff from Japan when you don’t live here.

Dramtastics Japan(whisky) Road Trip April 2013 – Day 9-10 Karuizawa 1966 21YO 43%Abv

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Spending a couple of days in the World Heritage town of Nikko. Mainly site seeing but thought this would also give me the opportunity to post on a rare, Karuizawa 1966-1987 21YO OB that I have been fortunate enough to secure on this trip.
So what do I know about this whisky. Mostly only the obvious. The years distilled and bottled, age, alcohol percentage and that there was 521 of these in total. That it is thought to have had only one previous owner, the person I acquired it from. That owner was in correspondence with Ocean in regards to this bottling back in the day and had lost most of the information on it, but his best recollection was that the wood shavings in the wooden box the bottle comes in is from the cask it was matured in. Myth or reality it is a romantic notion either way. So what will I be doing with bottle. As it is of far too much historic value, really a museum piece, I hope to find a suitable venue to display this bottle in as it may be the only one left in existence.

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Dramtastics Japan(whisky) Road Trip April 2013 – Day 8

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Arrived back in Tokyo from Osaka. Bit tired but there is a number of whisky bars near our digs in Shinjuku so only a short walk for a quality dram. As previously reported I had been to Bar Hermit West earlier this trip. I decided to try Bar Hermit Regalo this time. I knew there was also a Bar Hermit East, but one of the bartenders informed me there is a chain of 6 bars with 4 under the Bar Hermit Banner, all owned by the same person and all located in Shinjuku.
I know that I found the West Bar good value, but to my surprise this was even better for some very rare old Ichiro’s Card Series, Ichiro’s Malt Single casks and the Ichiro’s Malt 20YO. Photo of the list of specials included with the special price in red. As you can see, not much more than the Yamazaki 10 listed on the top right corner. Price list is not inclusive of all their Card Series bottling’s they have more. Also their own range of Suntory Owners Cask bottling’s but a slightly larger range than the West bar. Owners Cask offerings are Y1300 a shot and that price has not changed in 4 years.

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Tasted:
Ichiro’s Malt 5 of Hearts 2000-2008 French Oak Cognac Cask Finish 60%
Ichiro’s Malt Single Cask 2000-2005 American Oak Puncheon #6076 60%
Suntory Owners Cask for Bar Hermit Hakushu Heavily Peated 2000-2010 #EL 41499 62%

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Dramtastics Japan(whisky) Road Trip April 2013 – Day 7

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Took a trip out to the Yamazaki Distillery. I went there 4 years ago but there was no access to visitors due to the bird flu out break at the time. There is not a lot to the tour actually. Small visitors center with museum, gift shop and tasting bar. The site of 7000 thousand bottles of whisky in the ‘library’ was something to behold though.p1010385
Tour runs for an hour but half of that is the tasting at the end. I didn’t bother with the tour tasting as it was for Yamazaki 10 and 12. As for the first part of the tour, mostly what you would expect, how whisky is made and stored. Whisky nerds may find it a little underwhelming in technical detail but I think it was good enough for the majority of the people on my tour.
I should add that the town of Yamazaki itself is a pretty little place and with the lovely grounds around the distillery there was many a good photo opportunity separate to the whisky side of things. Also a tip for first timers to Osaka. If you take the JR Kyoto Rail Line from Osaka station, go to platform 7 and it is an easy an easy 25 minute ride to Yamazaki. There is a small map of how to get to the distillery after you exit the train.p1010402
As mentioned, I didn’t attend the official tour tasting but headed straight to the tasting bar in the visitors centre.
Tasted:
Yamazaki 12YO Genshu Key Component Malt Mizunara Cask 50%
Hibiki 17YO Genshu Key Component Malt Mizunara Cask 52%
Hibiki 17YO Genshu Key Component Malt Peated Cask 55%
Yamazaki Single Cask Sherry Butt #6B 0168 20YO 51%
*Genshu basically means distillery only and Key Component that cask type that is used in the blend.

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Dramtastics Japan(whisky) Road Trip April 2013 – Day 6

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After far to many Highballs my Japanese whisky in Kansai guide Clint from Whiskies R Us, took me along to Bar Sharom Osaka. This is one of those religious experience bars. A virtual shrine to all things Nikka, my jaw dropped when I walked through the door. It wasn’t the number of bottles, though there were lots of them, it was the sheer quality and rarity of some of the stock. We only had 2 drams but it was the sort of stuff that belongs in the Pantheon of the gods of whisky. Not sure if it’s his usual practice but props to the owner for the volume of his pours which were around 45-50mls. Maybe he just felt sorry for us on spending so much on four drams. : )
Just a note that this was not one of those official Nikka bars but privately owned by a Nikka enthusiast. For directions to the bar please contact Clint from Whiskies R Us.
Tasted:
Yoichi Genshu Malt Sherry Cask #203634 25YO 54%
Yoichi Single Cask 1990-2001 10YO #223639 Warehouse No.2 62%

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Dramtastics Japan(whisky) Road Trip April 2013 – Day 5

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After a lay day on day four, we headed to Osaka on day 5. Despite a long day of travel I found the energy to meet with Clint from Whiskies R Us in Umeda for a few whiskies. Ended up at Bar Augusta. Not a huge range of Japanese whiskies, but a range none the less. By my reckoning about 25-30 different bottling’s. Plenty of Scottish whisky though. Staff were nice and we were well looked after by the Owner, who is very knowledgeable about whisky in general including the Japanese stuff. He had actually been to the Yamazaki distillery sometime in the last few days, I can’t remember exactly, and gave me some tips on a couple of drams he said I should try when we visit Yamazaki today.
Anyway, at Bar Augusta I tried a couple of newbies to me and a rare one I had tried on a previous occasion in Tokyo, the Golden Horse 14YO. The Golden Horse(Hanyu) being the pick for me, even better than I remember.
Golden Horse Single Malt 14YO 57%
Yoichi Vintage 1989 55%
SMWS Yoichi Virgin Oak Cask 116.17 Pinball Wizard in a Japanese Teahouse 59.2%

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Dramtastics Japan(whisky) Road Trip April 2013 – Day 3 Part 2

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So later that evening, moved onto the Golden Gai(Guy) area for a few easy going Suntory Highballs at Bar Albatross with some family members.
Lots of fun. Decided to have a few more ‘serious’ whiskies at Zoetrope and then
Bar Hermit West. First 2 single malt photos from Zoetrope and the next 2 from Bar Hermit West. All were good but the Ichiro’s Malt Queen of Clubs was a beast and I loved it. Click thumbnails to view.

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Dramtastics Japan(whisky) Road Trip April 2013 – Day 2

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A quick run around today to check out some retail/department stores in Shinjuku and see what Japanese whisky they currently stock. There was Takashimaya, Isetan and a small liquor store that a fellow whisky enthusiast had put me onto. In order of merit Isetan had the best stock in my opinion, followed by the small liquor store then Takashimaya. Takashimaya being noticeably down in quality offerings since my last visit in November 2011. Full reports with to follow. Photo is from Isetan.
The good thing about Isetan was the chance to try a number of their Japanese whisky offerings. I tasted the following:
Ichiro’s Malt Hanyu 2000-2012 Mizunara Heads for Isetan 59.2%
Yamazaki Single Sherry Cask for Isetan 1998-2011 #CU 70067 61%
Karuizawa Brilliant Sherry 2000-2012 61%
Karuizawa Brilliant Sherry 2000-2013 60.2%
I enjoyed the Hanyu the most.
A big shout out to my new friends and fellow whisky enthusiasts from Hong Kong. Great having a chat to you at Isetan and see you again sometime over the Whisky Live Tokyo 2013 weekend.

Dramtastics Japan(whisky) Road Trip April 2013 – Day 1

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9 hour Flight from Brisbane Australia to Tokyo with part of the family in tow.
Straight down stairs from our digs at Hotel Southern Century Shinjuku for a cultural experience at the Mexican restaurant ; )
Back to one of our rooms for a Suntory Kakubin Mixer.
Dramtastic heads out on his own at 11.PM to Bar Hermit West in Shinjuku and enjoys the following. Full bar review and tasting notes to follow.
Suntory Owners Cask Bar Hermit Private Stock Yamazaki Hogshead 1999 11YO #DQ 60668 55%
Suntory Owners Cask 1986-2007 20YO Mizunara Cask #6B0018 49%
Suntory Single Cask Hakushu for WhiskyLive Tokyo 10th Anniversary 1997-2009 12YO Hogshead 56%
Suntory Owners Cask Bar Hermit Private Stock Yamazaki Sherry Cask #AX 70004 60%
Ichiro’s Malt The Game 3rd Edition 3rd Edition 2000 11YO Mizunara Hogshead Finish #917 59%
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The Japanese Whisky Review Japan Road(rail) Trip 18th – 30th April 2013.

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Dear fellow Japanese Whisky enthusiasts,
Dramtastic be heading back to Japan this coming Thursday, April the 18th. Hope you can join me on my adventures. I’ll be reporting from TIBS/WL Tokyo 2013 as well as bar hopping, where to buy Japanese Whisky follow ups, heading back to the Yamazaki distillery and of course karaoke(though for everyone else’s sake that part will remain private). Fingers crossed there will be a few surprises.

Kampai

Brian aka Dramtastic

Ichiro’s Malt – The Playing Card Whisky Series

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Whisky enthusiast/writer Ulf Buxrud recently released his web published dedication to all things Ichiro Malt Card Series. ichiros-malt-cards_0 Plenty of stuff that would have been taken from his book about Japanese whisky but as this web based info is free, a handy reference guide indeed. You can view Mr Buxruds site here and if there are any Card Series fanatics out there that spot any errors please contact me, I’ll be sure to pass it on.

Mizuwari Soho London – New Japanese Whisky Bar

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Recently opened in the basement level of Soho Yakitori joint Bincho, Mizuwari is a specialist Japanese whisky bar. My understanding is that they currently have about 40 different bottlings in stock. Not huge, but when you add a menu that includes a range of whisky cocktails and of course Mizuwari, enough to keep most people happy. Mizuwari sells the standard ranges from Suntory and Nikka but also gear from Karuizawa and Hanyu. The owners have also taken a leaf out of a service offered in many bars in Asia. Buy a whole bottle and they will keep it locked away for you until your next visit. Hand chipped ice balls add to the authenticity. Complimentary still water decanted into former Hibiki whisky bottles, contains strips of charcoal to create a softer mouth feel. mizuwara-soho-2
Also great news, if you get the munchies after a few drinks you can order Yakitori skewers from the restaurant upstairs. At the time of writing, prices range from GBP8.50 – 24 a shot, though their own website doesn’t seem to have a comprehensive whisky menu listed yet.