Tag Archives: Hanyu

Japanese Whisky Bar Report – Aloha Whisky Bar Tokyo

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Aloha Whisky

A newcomer to the Tokyo Whisky Bar scene, Aloha Whisky Bar in Ikebukuro opened it’s doors in September 2019.
The bar is owned and operated by the affable Mr David Tsujimoto, a native of Hawaii of Japanese decent. David has lived in Tokyo for the last 6 years and in that time has collected an extremely impressive range of whiskies. Around 600 bottlings in total and if that is not enough to wet your appetite, about 250 of these are Japanese Whiskies. That number of Japanese Whiskies propels Aloha Whisky Bar straight into the Major Leagues!

Aloha Whisky 2The majority of the other whiskies on offer are Scottish or Bourbons but there is also whisky from Canada, Ireland, Taiwan, Hawaii, Australia, Switzerland and China.
Other alcoholic beverages include Beer, Red and White Wine, Gin, and Cognac. David also has a passion for rums so if your interested in rums, ask David for a recommedation of one of the rums at the bar. We did and it was a suberb fruit bomb!
Starting prices for half shots of no age statement Japanese Single Malt Whiskies is Y500 and Single Cask Japanese Whiskies from the likes of Chichibu Y1500.
If you are new to whisky David offers a number of tasting flights from both Scotland and Japan. A tasting flight was the starting point for my own Japanese Whisky odyssey over 10 years ago.
As David is always on the lookout for new whisky expressions, you would be certain of an exciting experience even after multiple visits to Aloha Whisky Bar.
Aloha Whisky Bar is also a non smoking venue, a boon for anyone who actually wants to nose and taste whisky not just cigarette smoke all night. The bar seats around 10-12.
The bar is currently open every day except Tuesdays from 6PM-11:30PM. I always recommend before going to any bar that you check out their Facebook page for any updates to opening hours. Directions to the bar if arriving by train are pretty straight forward. Exit C3 of the Fukutoshin(F) area of Ikebukuro Station. If you can’t find C3 ask any station staff. When you exit C3 at street level the bar is directly across the road a few meters to the left. It is on level 3 accessed by a small elevator. Picture below includes the sign for Aloha Whisky Bar.
I cannot recommend Aloha Whisky Bar highly enough and it will be one of my regulars whenever I am in Tokyo.

Aloha Whisky 3

Japanese Whisky News – Insanity Prevails as 8 Grand Worth of Ichiro’s Malt Card Series Sells for Almost 1 Million at Auction

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Ichiro's Malt Card Series

Once again proof positive that wealth and insanity are not mutually exclusive. A NOT full set of Ichiro’s Malt Card Series Whisky sold at yesterdays Bonham’s Auction in Hong Kong. Buyer paid US$917,000! To put this in perspective I would calculate the average price when these were sold retail and very slowly at the time, was about US$150 a bottle. A number of the first bottling’s were under 100 bucks a pop and the most expensive when released was the Monochrome Joker which I paid $AUD350 for. My simple maths is that if you bought the 54 bottling’s that sold at this auction when first released at average US$150 a bottle = US$8,100. If you think that average bottling price is inaccurate then you weren’t around at the time. I still have 8 of the bottling’s and sold another 5 so still have all the records of what I paid back in the day. I also used to have a link the Ichiro’s Venture Whisky website and you would be shocked to see how cheap these were when viewed in black and white.
Fact of the matter, the Hanyu distillery closed because no one was buying the stuff, though they certainly weren’t an island in that respect for Japanse Whisky. IMO the provenance of these bottling’s is only rarity. There are some excellent one’s and some average one’s, so it isn’t based on these all being stella tasting whiskies. Looking through Whiskybase the average bottle rating is about 88/100 which is still commendable but hardly commensurate with the price based on the juice alone. Only one bottling actually hit 91/100 and no Card Series Bottling is in the top 5 rated Hanyu on Whiskybase. Another thing is Ichiro san bottled these with Playing Card Labels as a marketing tactic. It was not based on these being the pick of the litter from the remaining casks. So, if these were not a set but just had regular labels, how much would they be worth. A shit load less I’d venture. I’ve tasted and own a number of other Hanyu that are the equal or better than some of the Card Series and although still expensive these day’s, nothing like the cost of a bottle from the Card Series. What price a simple label!!!.
If you wish to know what a true full set of 58 Ichiro’s Malt Card Series bottling’s constitutes it’s here.

Ichiro’s Malt & Grain Japanese Blended Whisky Limited Edition 2018 48%abv

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P1050436Palate: Fruit mince pie, plum sauce, currants, molasses, pumpernickel, sea spray, sherry, saddles bags, sweet pipe tobacco, cockles, caramel, vanilla, roses. Ever evolving!
Palate: Sherry, mixed nuts, orange juice, nutmeg, pepper, roses, peppermint, papaya, plum sauce, cherry cream filled chocolate, molasses, raisins.
Finish: Floral’s, macadamia’s, old leather, honey, marmalade, dried mango, peppermint, burnt eucalyptus.
Last Word: The ghosts of the flavors linger until the following day.

Rating: 92/100
*Note: A blend of Hanyu and Chicibu Single Malts and Kawasaki Single Grain Whisky.

The Japanese Whisky Review – 500 Japanese Whiskies Tasted!

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So what does it take for the average self funded Japanese Whisky Aficionado to reach 500 Japanese Whiskies tasted? 10 years, being in the right place at the right time, spending time on the ground in Japan making contacts, unwavering enthusiasm and a whole lot of hard earned cash!
How hard was it? That is a story of 2 parts. The “Glory” days between May 2009 (the first time I visited Japan) and roughly 2014 and the leaner times after that of rocketing prices and limited availability.
Getting to 100 was relatively easy. 200 wasn’t that hard either. From memory even 300 wasn’t too bad. Beyond that it felt like hitting a brick wall and if your’e like me and just an average middle class Joe, you already know the reasons why. I won’t rehash here recent Japanese Whisky history and why prices are so high and stock levels/variety so limited, there are enough stories on the net using a simple Google search.
The majority of Japanese Whiskies I’ve tasted have been drinkable at the very least all the way up to stellar. There have been some total duds of coarse which is to be expected.
Favorite distillery style is from Yoichi and I admire Yamazaki and Chichibu for innovation and at least when you can get them, variety. Most often imbibed daily dram is Nikka From the Barrel.
Most underrated distillery in Miyagikyo and most overrated is Karuizawa. I’ve tasted about the same amount of bottling’s from Mars Whisky as I have Karuizawa and overall I’d choose Mars any day. I’ll throw in a number of Hanyu Card series as overrated at least for the price they command these days.
For those wondering if there will ever be a return to the “Glory” days of cheap prices, easy access and lots of variety I’m going to have to be the bearer of bad tiding’s. As long as supply exceeds demand no way! Not only that, even when the big players Suntory and Nikka bring a variety of age statement whiskies back on line they have repeatedly said they see their products as premium. This means they will continue to charge commensurate premium prices compared to say, Scottish whiskies of the same age and availability. I do look forward however to the 3 year old bottling’s that will be released in 2020 from the newer distilleries such as Akkeshi, Shizuoka, Kanosuke and Mars Tsunuki. 2020 will also be banner year for Chichibu who will release their first official 10 year old whisky.
Finally I’ll list 25 Japanese Whiskies that aren’t daily drams that I would always love to have a stash of. These are whiskies that left an immediate impression and haven’t failed since.
Hibiki 21
The Hakushu SM Aged 15 Years 500ml 56%
The Hakushu Single Malt Sherry Cask #9O 50021 1989 TWE 62%
Suntory Owners Cask Hakushu 2000-2011 #EL 41914 Smoky & Bitter 57%
Suntory Owners Cask Bar Hermit Private Stock Yamazaki 1996 Sherry Butt 13YO #AX70004 60%
The Cask of Yamazaki 1993 Heavily Peated #3Q70047 62%
Suntory Blended Whisky For The Peninsula Tokyo 2014 43% Sherry Casks of Yamazaki, Hakushu, Chita
Miyagikyo Single Cask 1996 16YO Sherry Cask 60% #118913
Taketsuru Pure Malt 35YO
Yoichi Single Cask 1994 18YO #400749 Warehouse 25 62%
Yoichi Single Cask 1988-2013 23YO Warehouse 25 #100212 62%
Yoichi Peaty and Salty 1989 12YO Single Cask #251224 63.3%abv
Yoichi 20
Karuizawa 1992 #6978 62.8%
Mars Moltage 3 and 25 28YO 46%
Mars Malt Gallery 1985 23YO #324 American White Oak 58%
Mars Komagatake Single Cask Vintage 1989 23YO 63.5% Cognac Limousin Cask #1060
Mars Komagatake　27 years old Sherry Casks / American White Oak Cask 46%
Kawasaki Single Grain Sherry Butt 1982 28YO # 7414 65.5%
Chichibu Mizunara Puncheon Cask # 89 2008-2017 58.2%
Ichiro’s Malt 8 of Clubs 1988 23YO #7100 57.5
Ichiro’s Malt The Game 2000 9YO 61.2%
Ichiro’s Malt SC for Takashimaya 1991 18YO 46.5%
The Single Malt Chichibu Golden Horse 12-year-old, Bottle # 0263 2008 56%
Ichiro’s Malt and Grain Kiyosato Field Ballet 26th Anniversary Bottling 48%abv

Chichibu The Peated 2018 10th Anniversary 55.5%abv

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P1050419Nose: Vanilla, quite floral, clay pots, earthy peat, hessian, hay bales, toffee, lemon juice, brine, hint of antiseptic band-aid.
Palate: Bonfire smoke, ash, Australian bush after a wild fire. Butter, eucalyptus oil, burnt vanilla, quite herbaceous. Brine, some peppery spice. Popping candy, not so much the candy but the popping sensation when your tongue smacks your palate. Water brings out more vanilla, the lemon, almond flakes, cafe late and mint dark chocolate.
Finish: Ash, black coffee, Lindt dark chocolate 90% cocoa, bonfire smoke, dried cigar leaf, vanilla. Water makes the coffee more late and adds in the hessian and hale bales from the nose.
Last Word: Would have said this before, but I’ve never had Heavily Peated Chichibu let me down yet going all the way back to the New Born. This is no exception!

Rating: 88/100 and quite outstanding for the young age!

Buying Japanese Whisky in Japan 2019 Report

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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

Ichiro’s Malt & Grain for Claude Whisky 10th Anniversary Bourbon Barrel Finish #8259 59.7%abv

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P1050398Nose: Black plums, black cherries, Flambeau bananas, brandy snaps, caramelized orange slices, toffee, raspberry jam, English breakfast tea, honey, saddle bags, floor polish, dried papaya and mango, rye spice, dusty oak barrels.
Palate: Pecan pie, toffee, rhubarb, vanilla, butter. There is some serious richness from the sherry cask and old Kawasaki single grain whisky. Quince jam, brown sugar, banana, coal, cherry cream, dried mango, nutmeg, sugared apple pie crust. A few drops of water adds a little pepper and ginger warmth, orange and sugared pink grapefruit.
Finish: Old oak barrels, cigar leaf, hint of pepper taste but not heat, toffee, cherry cream, bananas, quince jam, English breakfast tea with 1 sugar, bbq hotplate, minties. Water brings a return to warming pepper and ginger.
Great length. A whisky that leaves an impression of it’s essence over to the next day.
Last Word: I’ve had a number of these Ichiro’s Malt & Grain whiskies and if you have had the white label, premium or this years limited edition blue label this is a big step up in my opinion. You would have to go to one of the Kiyosato Field Ballet bottling’s that only have old Hanyu and Kawasaki whisky in the blend to go up a couple of ratings points and they are 10 x or more the price of this one. A rich indulgence and glad I also have another bottle.

Rating: 90/100
*Note: This is the make up of the blend
CHICHIBU malt matured in bourbon barrel
CHICHIBU malt matured in sherry cask
Some malt whiskies matured over 10 years from Scotland
KAWASAKI 33YO single grain whisky distilled in 1982
After blending, re-casked in bourbon barrel 8259 and matured for 2 years and 9 months.

Chichibu Distillery Visit November 2018

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Our tour of the Chichibu Distillery covered the end to end process of making Chichibu Whisky. There are other whisky blog posts that have previously explained this process so I won’t cover this myself but I would encourage you to do a net search if you are interested in those finer details of Chichibu whisky production.

The following are simply facts that I personally found of interest or just my own musings.

Chichibu Distillery employs 20 dedicated and friendly staff. All are residents of the nearby Chichibu Town. No experience necessary, what is required is a strong work ethic and a passion to be a part of Ichiro’s Akuto’s vision for Chichibu Whisky. Most if not all employees approached Ichiro san directly to join the business, not from positions that were advertised.

Workers at the distillery consider it to be artisanal and are proud of the traditional hands on production methods. If you start in one area of whisky production, over time you will have opportunities to learn all areas of whisky production. Our guide for the tour Soma, has 8 years with the business and is one such employee who can now cover any area of production.

Chichibu currently produces 60,000 litres of Single Malt Whisky and bottles approximately 105,000 litres of whisky when the grain whisky from other countries is added for the blends.

The unique Mizunara washbacks were made by a company owned by an old school mate of Ichiro san. The wort does not spend enough time in the washbacks for any Mizunara flavors to be imparted, but the folks at Chichibu believe the bacteria that thrives inside the Mizunara Oak imbues the wort with certain qualities essential to the Chichibu house style. Chichibu Peated Malt is peated to 50PPM. They currently use 10% local barley but if possible will over time increase this to 100% local barley.

The onsite warehouse for barrel storage has a capacity of 1500 barrels and currently holds around 1100. Barrels are not rotated from top to bottom or vice versa so each has to be monitored very carefully due to the temperature variations from floor to ceiling.
Temperatures in Chichibu can range from +40C in summer to -10C in winter speeding up the maturation process considerably.

A myriad of cask types are used including ex shochu, tequila, rum, wine (both red and white) and french and local, beer, sherry, and Mizunara(Japanese Oak) casks coopered on site and chosen in person by Ichiro san and some of the employees, from Hokkaido Mizunara Oak trees.

The barrels used in the 2017 Limited release IPA cask finish started life with Chichibu whisky as the contents. The brewery wanted ex whisky barrels to store some of their beer so as to impart some whiskies flavors. Barrels from Chichibu were sent to the brewery and once the beer was bottled, they were sent back to Chichibu to further mature some Chichibu Single Malt Whisky.

The blend of the standard White Label Ichiro’s Malt & Grain contains whisky from 5 countries, Japan, US, Scotland, UK and Ireland. The premium versions of the Malt & Grain are basically blended from whisky from the same countries but matured for a longer period of time.

There are still some casks of Kawasaki Single Grain Whisky (I saw a few in the warehouse) and Hanyu Single Malt Whisky. Despite my light hearted pleading to Soma who ran our tour and Yumi the Chichibu Brand Manager, they both politely declined to tell me the number of casks, only that it was definitely a smallish quantity. Although ultimately a business that needs to make a profit, I personally hope that Ichiro san keeps at least 1 cask of both Kawasaki and Hanyu un-bottled for posterity’s sake.

Ichiro san maintains a relentless schedule that includes the overall running of the distillery and chief blender, attending trade shows, travelling the world choosing casks and whisky for blending from other distilleries and choosing the Mizunara Oak for barrels. My impression is that he could teach university classes on business networking.

At the end of the tour we were given the opportunity to taste a number of Chichibu Whiskies including three different Single Cask Chichibu only available at the distillery. A very solid bourbon cask, an interesting in a great way white wine cask and the highlight, a mizunara cask. Every one was a 90 point whisky in my book. All were very approachable even at more than 60%abv highlighting the quality of the distillation.

My only previous experience with whisky solely matured in Mizunara oak is from Yamazaki. The Yamazaki were delicate and elegant whiskies. The Chichibu was bold by comparison and I would have to say the most impressive I’ve tried. If you have read about the flavor profile that Mizunara Oak can impart incense/sandalwood/Japanese temples/coconut, this one has it in spades and a whole lot more going on as well. Unique and quite glorious, and when some day these are bottled for the general public will be absolute gold! These three were also the oldest Chichibu I have tasted at over 9 years old. If you think some of the young Chichibu are impressive we are all in for a treat when there is a 10 year old age statement Chichibu.

Speaking of which, I was advised by Soma that we may see some single cask 10 year old private Chichibu bottlings within the next year and the plan is for a 10YO age statement Chichibu to be released in 2020 to celebrate the Tokyo Olympic Games.

In 2019 a second Chichibu distillery is being built a few minutes from the original. It will be 5 times the size of the current distillery. Soma joked if they will be required to label the bottles as Blended Malt Whisky because even though close, both distilleries are not on the same site.
Finally I wish to thank Chichibu Brand Ambassador Yumi for facilitating our visit to the distillery, our expert guide Soma and of course Ichiro Akuto who bravely turned a dream into reality and the Whisky of World is a much richer place for it!

The traditional pagoda.

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One of two Forthys copper pots stills.

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Whisky stillman selecting the cut of head, heart and tails of the distillate.

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Bottling, labeling and packing Chichibu style. With certain limited releases labels are still applied by hand.

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Mizunara Oak Washbacks.

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Barrels full of Chichibu Whisky goodness.

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Yep, even Ichiro’s Malt & Grain gelato can be had at Chichibu Station. Of course I had one!

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Malt Bar SouthPark Tokyo Japanese Whisky

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Visited on a Saturday night at around 9PM. For a well stocked whisky bar strangely quite. This may have to do with the fact that it is not inside a major Tokyo hub such as Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ginza or Roppongi. From Shinjuku station it’s about a 12-15 minute taxi ride. From about 10PM to 1.30am it was just myself and another guy I met there. Good thing is that if you are in a bar like this it’s easy to meet and chat with people about whisky because no one is there by accident.
Of course I was here for Japanese Whisky like most of the bars visited on this trip. Through a Facebook message I was advised by the bar they had approximately 300 whiskies. Seemed like more. Mostly Scottish Whiskies but I would say a more than decent selection of Japanese Whiskies. Whether you are new to Japanese whisky or a veteran, there should be enough options to satisfy. As many readers would know if you are in Japan and show enthusiasm about anything to the locals they get right on board. So what you may initially see at the bar isn’t necessarily all they have. I started with a Single Cask Chichibu then a Suntory’s Owners Cask Single Cask Yamazaki from a Sherry Butt. Once I’d talked about my passion for Japanese Whisky with the bar staff all of a sudden out comes another four Owner’s Casks that were not initially on view. IMG_0101
Then a couple of rare Hanyu appeared. As the Owners Casks were different styles you could probably just go for those and walk away happy. Apart from the Sherry Butt I tried a very tasty Owner’s Cask Heavily Peated Yamazaki. A budget of roughly Y10,000 will get you 3 Single Cask Japanese whiskies to try. Of course can spend more. I asked the price of one of the Hanyu in the picture below furthest to the right and it was Y6,800. IMG_0098
If that’s not in the budget for a full shot and your are keen, then ask for a half shot. Definitely a recommended bar for Japanese Whisky.

Chichibu Blackadder 2010 5 YO Cognac Cask #745 61.4 %abv

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850_8032Nose: Nutmeg, pepper, mixed herbs, raisins, apple cider, grapefruit, lemon peel, yeast. Water adds pears and a wildflower note.
Palate: Overwhelmingly hot at first and quite palate numbing. Once settled there’s the apple cider, grapefruit, lemon peel and nutmeg. A decent splash of water brings the hot spices to heel and adds a buttery element, creamy nuts like macadamia’s and some tanginess and overall far more satisfying.
Finish: Starts with apple cider then moves towards a tequila like pepper, spearmint candy, tobacco leaf and nougat. With water the yeast makes a return.
Last Word: Neat the palate starts unbalanced on the hot side. Fortunately this can be tamed with the addition of water. The finish is the highlight for me.

Rating: 84/100

Japanese Whisky in 2018 – The Sad State of Affairs

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A title such as the one for this post could at first glance look like click bait. Bit dramatic isn’t it!
I’m going to tell you a story that is only a decade old and one that I believe backs up the title.
Firstly, what has prompted the post? It is the current online Japanese Whisky news doing the rounds about Suntory discontinuing both Hakushu 12 Year Old Single Malt and The Hibiki 17 Year Old Blend in the second half of this year. Some may have even read that here at the Japanese Whisky Review as we have a number of fantastic reader/contributors adding comments in the annual Buying Whisky in Japan post. One of our contributors posted on the rumor(now true) at the beginning of the month. You may wish to follow that post moving forward as these contributors really have their finger on the pulse.
Now lets go back to where it all started, at least for me, almost a decade ago on my journey into the world of Japanese whisky. Actually, most of what I am about to write about what Japanese Whisky was available to many folks is good up until about 5-6 years ago. Maybe you didn’t have some of these bottling’s in your home country but they were readily available on line from retailers in the UK and Europe who ship worldwide.
I don’t want to dwell too much on closed distilleries such as Hanyu or Karuizawa. For most whisky drinkers you may as well be talking about the Unicorn, myths and legends that they will never see, only read about.

The Big Two Japanese whisky producers are Suntory and Nikka! Within the time frame mentioned in the last paragraph, this is what you could find easily on the shelves of liquor stores in Japan and many of them from retailers outside of Japan.
Lets start with Suntory and I will be  focusing on age statement bottling’s. Number will represent the age in years and I’ll be adding the approximate price in Yen so you will be able to do the exchange rate into your own currency.
Suntory Royal Blend 12 and 15. Y2,500 and Y4,000.
Suntory Hibiki blends 12, 17 and 17 50.5% and 21. Y6,000, Y10,000 and Y20,000.
Yamazaki Single Malt 10, 12, and 18. Y4,000, Y6000 and Y20,000.
Chita Single Grain 12. Y5,000.

Next up Nikka
Yoichi Single Malt 10, 12, 15 and 20. Y4,000, Y6,000, Y10,000 and Y20,000
Miyagikyo Single Malt 10, 12, and 15. Y4,000, Y6,000 and Y10,000
Taketsuru Pure Malt 12, 17 and 21. Y4,000, Y7,000 and Y10,000.

Also readily available at retail, distillery or online.
Multiple annual vintage or special cask releases. Multiple single cask aged statement whiskies. These are the ones you might see listed on Whiskybase and wonder how the hell people got those bottle’s
Suntory even had an Owner’s Cask program in Japan where you could buy a whole cask of Yamazaki or Hakushu. Yes it was a marketing program to try and sell more whisky when the Japanese Whisky Industry was in the doldrums but again, it was in the time line I have mentioned. Suntory used to advertise the program on it’s website with prices, age, age distilled and cask type. I can tell you that you could buy many a cask for less than a single bottle some Yamazaki or Hakushu might sell today at auction.

So what do we have today that’s widely available removing the soon to be discontinued bottling’s.
Suntory
1 x Hakushu and 1 x Yamzaki single malt no age statement bottling’s.
Yamazaki 12 single malt
Hibiki Harmony and Harmony Masters Select(Airport exclusive) no age statement blends.
Chita Single Grain whisky no age statement.
A few no age statement blends.

Nikka
Nikka From the Barrel no age statement(though this is a personal favorite and generally well regarded in whisky circles).
1 x Miyagikyo and 1 x Yoichi single malt no age statement bottling’s.
Taketsuru Pure Malt no age statement.
Nikka The Blend 12YO.
A few no age statement blends.

You may not feel a hint of depression after reading that but I sure do. We are down to 2 readily available age statement bottling’s from the two biggest players in the Japanese whisky industry.

Now it’s easy to read many articles online as the the reasons why the current state of play. Doesn’t really help much though. Also, I have read where journalists have spoken to a rep from Nikka or Suntory and they are trying to talk up how they are still going to concentrate on the quality of their whisky. No doubt they will but it does not mean the whiskies will be particularly great either. Make up your own minds but from the current list, I only rate a few as stuff I’d wish to have in the whisky cabinet at all times. Can young whiskies be very good, sure can. But why should we pay the same price for  NAS whisky as age statement whisky. It may not even be that one is better than another, but we also know we are paying more for an age statement whisky because the age statement cask has to recoup the time invested by the distillery warehousing the barrels for 10 years or more.

So what about the future say 3 to 8 years?
We have big production ramp ups from both Nikka and Suntory going back a few years but it will be many years before we start seeing any multiple readily available age statement bottling’s from either and then at what price? I also worry that that they will fear being caught with their pants down again and release age statement bottling’s irregularly as special releases and at premium prices.
We have new Japanese Whisky distilleries that will have bottling’s of no younger than 3 years available by the time of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The issue here is that like Chichibu, Mars and Akashi they will be small concerns with limited production runs as will be the total amount of liquid distilled. So many whisky fans will never have a chance to buy a bottle, especially age statements or single casks. We all know the price of many a Chichibu at auction!!!
You are certainly not going to be able to nip down to Costco’s and grab a bottle when the mood strikes.

So what do we really need from Suntory and Nikka moving forward?
In the short term if you are going to bottle mainly no age statement whiskies please give it character and complexity, especially the distinct distillery characterisitcs of Yamazaki, Hakushu, Yoichi and Miyagikyo. For the most part for anyone that had the pleasure of enjoying the age statement versions, both Suntory and Nikka have failed.
Make the prices commensurate with having no age on the label. A no age statement bottling should never cost the same as the age statement bottling version did yet they do.
Have the balls to produce enough whisky so that in the future they can consistently stock retail shelves in all the major markets with various age statement bottling’s at fair prices! There, I’ve said it!

Ichiro’s Malt Hanyu 8 of Hearts 1991-2008 Oloroso Sherry Butt #9303 56.8%abv

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8 of HeartsNose: Cream sherry, raspberries, orange jus, marmalade, pine nettles, burnt popcorn, apricot jam, a little of the Hanyu earthiness.
Palate: There is a richness to the mouth feel and flavors. The cream sherry, Valencia oranges, raisins, peanut butter, rye, menthol, mild chili flakes.
Finish: Shortish on cream sherry, Valencia oranges, menthol, earthy.
Last Word: A more than decent Oloroso sherry butt with no off notes or flavors. Don’t expect to be blown away however for the 4 to 5 grand you will need to buy one.

Rating: 87/100

Buying Japanese Whisky in Japan 2018 Report

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In the 2017 there were 428 comments by contributors for the Buying Japanese Whisky in Japan Report thread. A mighty effort especially from a small number of very active posters. My personal thanks to those guys.
In 2017 there were also 22,500 views of this thread so be in no doubt this post and the advice given is greatly valued by readers of TJWR. I should add that there were 12,000 views of the 2016 report during that 2017 as well.
So to our regular contributors and anyone else who wants to jump on board, I look forward to reading about your experiences of buying Japanese Whisky in Japan 2018!

Kampai

Brian AKA Dramtastic

Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu IPA Cask Finish 2017 57.5%abv

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P1050322Nose: The IPA cask influence shows it’s hand straight off the bat. Some maltiness and very hoppy/fruity. There is a dustiness like dust covered old oak barrels. Orange peel, peach skin and yeast. Incense which grows stronger with water.
Palate: Lots of malt and hops. Some big hot spices. The dry dustiness, orange peel on the verge of going moldy, sugared grapefruit. Water adds salt, lemon zest and citrus tart. For mine water is a must with this whisky to subdue the hot spices which are a little out of balance and to add some nuance.
Finish: Fairly short on the malt and hoppy/fruity flavors.
Last Word: The casks first contain Chichibu whisky, then refilled with IPA beer from a number of different IPA craft breweries before being refilled with Chichibu whisky for finishing.
The Chichibu quality is there but the final product is extremely cask forward in profile and for my tastes maybe a little too much so. Almost like a novelty whisky.

Rating: 85/100

Ichiro’s Malt Card Series Full Set Of 58 Bottles For Sale At Auction

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Ichiro's Malt Card Series
Offered for sale for the first time is a full set of 58 bottles of Ichiro’s Malt Card Series as part of Sotheby’s Hong Kong Finest and Rarest Wine Auction this Friday and Saturday 29-30th of September.
For those who are trying to figure out how a deck of cards is 58 it’s not. Just so happens that back in the day Ichiro Akuto bottled and sold a about a quarter of the whisky from 4 different single casks then later bottled and sold the rest of the whisky from these casks. The casks used became the Ace of Spades, the Queen of Hearts, the King of Diamonds and the Jack of Clubs hence double bottling’s of these cards and the total number in the series as 58.
Price guide for the full set of Ichiro’s Malt Card Series is from a ridiculously low US$256,000 to US$512,000.
As a set of 54 cards without the 4 doubles sold at auction a couple of years ago for US480,000 I personally expect the upper range of the price guide to not only be reached but exceeded.
So if your a wealthy whisky collector here is a rare opportunity, for the rest of us we have a few days to win the lottery.

**Update: Lot sold for US$455,000 so it seems prices have stabilized or even declined a little.

Buying Japanese Whisky in Japan 2017 Report

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004Kicking things off early this year. A big thanks to all who posted reports over the last coupe of years especially the regulars. Great work and an invaluable source of reference if the 10’s of thousands of views these posts have received is anything to go by.

I though we’d start off with a report added by Martin 2 days ago in the 2016 post but is from January 2017 .
FYI . . .
In Hakata earlier this month found an Hibiki 21 at Daimaru. Then bought one of them Kurayoshi 18 year old at BIC Camera Hiroshima on a whim (wondering about this one, will taste when back home). Also found, but decided not to buy, an Hibiki 12 YO at a side street retailer. Just today found the last bottle on shelf of Hakushu 18 YO at BIC Camera in Ikebukuro (the bigger one, closer to station). Also bought some miniature Hibiki 17 YO at Seibu in Ikebukuro.

This post is open to anyone who wishes to contribute so keep the reports coming folks and happy hunting in 2017!

Ichirio’s Malt Hanyu 1991 23YO Madeira Cask # 1386 54.1%

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IMG_4017Nose: Earthy field mushrooms, creosote, licorice, apricots, furniture polish, fermented orange slices, a touch of brine. Water adds some pear and white flowers.
Palate: Candied orange slices, creosote, Brazil nuts, olive oil, salt, nutmeg, ginger cubes. Almost no woodiness after 23 years in an oak barrel. Water adds some menthol, almonds and nougat.
Finish: Over baked scones, ginger cubes, creosote, earthy, powder like cocoa powder but without the cocoa taste and the nougat with some water added.
Last Word: Not your typical Madeira cask matured whisky, less fruity/winey for sure. A really nice experience and while not cheap to buy, a lot cheaper than a Card Series Hanyu of the same vintage.

Rating: 88/100

Ichiro’s Malt and Grain Kiyosato Field Ballet 26th Anniversary Bottling 48%abv

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IMG_3985-2Nose: Earthy, licorice, molasses, fruity notes from a well aged rum, leather, tobacco, lapsang souchong. If you can call a nose smooth this is smooth.
Palate: Again the long aged rum is prevalent but not overwhelming. Caramelised orange juice, tobacco, leather, lapsang souchong, mixed herbs, ginger heat, salt. Well balanced, interesting, tasty and with no rough edges whatsoever.
Finish: Leather, tobacco, tar, pine, molasses and coconut.
Last Word: I’ve tasted a number of Ichiro’s Malt and Grain bottling’s and this one is a stand out! Not cheap, but if you have the readies this is a highly recommended whisky and better than the majority of Ichiro’s Card Series I’ve tasted.

Rating: 92/100
Note: A blend of 25YO Hanyu Single Malt from 1990 and 33YO Kawasaki Single Grain from 1982.

Chichibu One The Way 2015 55.5%abv

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P1050274Nose: Mushrooms, dried pears, fresh cut timber, figs, apple sauce, malt. After some time(with water) white flowers.
Palate: Really does need a decent amount of water. Fermented pears, baked apples, uncooked mushrooms, nutmeg, barley, marzipan, menthol, a little smoke.
Finish: Pepper and nutmeg, malt, fermented pears, a mineral element. The fresh cut timber makes a return adding quite a bit dryness at the very end.
Last Word: Not really a favorite Chichibu and neither was the 2013 On the Way. This one is a slight improvement. Lacks any elements to make it stand out or make me want to pour another straight away. It’s youngish and you can taste it which may sound obvious, but there have been other Chichibu I have tasted where you would be very hard pressed to guess the age.

Rating: 82/100

Buying Japanese Whisky in Japan 2016 Report

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***Please see the 2017 report here for the latest buying reports***
It’s been a year since I wrote the post Buying Japanese Whisky In Japan Nothing But Scorched Earth so time to see if anything as changed. The main reason for the 12 month update is that particular post still generates a huge number of views and the vast majority of emails I receive are from people travelling to Japan and asking where to by whisky. This new post is based on my experience travelling to Tokyo early last month.

If anything has changed it may be that things are even more bleak than last year. The situation where large groups travelling from other countries in Asia especially China on organised shopping tours pillaging all the limited release and age statement Japanese whiskies is now virtually non existent. The reason being is there is almost none of that stuff left to buy anyway.

Whether it be large liquor retailers such as Liquors Hasegawa, Shinanoya, the liquor section of department stores like Isetan or Takeshimaya or the local 7 Eleven the main offerings are pretty much the same. You’re looking at no age statement blends from Suntory, Nikka, Kirin, Mars and Akashi, no age statement single malts from Nikka and Suntory, Nikka The Blend 12YO, Nikka Coffey Grain and Coffey Malt, Taketsuru NAS, Hibiki Harmony. There is quite a lot mini bottles of Yamazaki 12 around. Isetan still had some of their in house only Mars Tsunagu Blend available. Liquors Hasegawa had some Yamazaki LE 2015 but as they sold out everywhere else last year the price was at a premium of Y22,000. You can buy something like Yamazaki 18YO Narita Airport amongst the very limited number of offering’s available there but it’s still the travel exclusive bottling with the fancy label for Y50000.
If you do go to Liquors Hasegawa it may be worthwhile asking if they have anything interesting not on the shelves, I know they had some but again be prepared to pay a decent premium above the original retail price. Shinanoya had some Hakushu 12YO. It is always worth while checking out any of these places as you may be lucky, well very lucky, to be there on a day when one of their in in house bottling’s becomes available. That’s if they haven’t all pre sold before they hit the shelves. I was lucky enough to grab the one bottle of Hakushu 18YO left on the shelf at Shinanoya Kabukicho branch, how that lasted I have no idea but of course even at Y24000 I didn’t hesitate. A bottle of Chichibu On The Way from Liquors Hasegawa for about the original retail price of Y9,500 and a bottle of Kirin Small Batch 18 YO Blend for Y26000 at a small liquor store in the vicinity of Hakoneyumoto Station. The latter two where also last bottles left. Yamazaki distillery had a dozen bottle of Hibiki 12 and their 300ml No age statement Single Malt available to buy but by the end of my 1 hour tour and a few whiskies at the bar they were all sold out. So you may walk into any liquor store and fluke an interesting bottle but they are not available on mass all of the time.
I was discussing the Japanese Whisky scene with the manager of Liquors Hasegawa and he mentioned that only three years ago they were lucky to sell 12 bottles of Japanese Whisky a month.

In relation to bars I only went to a few, you can still try the Yoichi age statement range at least up to the 15 year old, Takestsuru 17 and 21, Hakushu 12 and 18YO and the same from Yamazaki, also Hibki 12,17 and 21 year olds. The famous Zoetrope still has a lot of different bottling’s but you can forget about anything from Karuizawa or Hanyu Card Series. In fact I think there was only a few Hanyu left to try at Zoetrope and a very limited range of single casks from Yoichi, Yamazaki, Hakushu, Akashi and Mars. Yamazaki distillery(took a day trip with some family) is still a good place to try single cask component malts at very reasonable prices. I tasted one dram each of cask strength Heavily Peated, Sherry and Mizunara casks for Y2500 in total.

So what will happen moving forward. Not much in the short to medium term, say three to 8 years. It’s true that the big players such as Nikka and Suntory have ramped up production but when this will bear fruit in regards to age statement whiskies is anyone’s guess but I’d say maybe 5-6 years. There were quite a number of new bottling’s from Chichibu over the last 12 months but unfortunately many of these are single cask single malts or single class blends that sell out very quickly in Japan. Mars released a few new bottling’s but again most sell out quickly in Japan, same with Akashi. Good for those smaller output distilleries but not of much use to most Japanese whisky enthusiasts. Yamazaki LE 2016 was released last month and pretty much sold out straight away. Horigami-san owner of Zoetrope bar told there are three new distilleries coming on line this year. That’s great but they will not make any impact for at least 3 years when they can be classified as whisky and even then will they just be three new versions of Chichibu. That is to say, smallish production runs that sell out very quickly if they are good quality and hardly if at all impact the amount of Japanese whiskies available outside of Japan. In the meanwhile prices for no longer available at retail bottling’s of Japanese whisky will remain high due to supply and Japan. Still lenty available on the auction circuit for those with deep pockets. Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Yes, but at them moment it’s a long tunnel and the light is fairly dim.