G’day,
I’m heading to Borneo for a week of wildlife photography & videography. On Sunday the 16th July Australia time there should be a new video on my YouTube channel where I review the Yoichi Nikka Bar Restaurant Bangkok. Home page for the bar reads – Our store is a sister store of the popular long-established store “THE NIKKA BAR” in Sapporo, Hokkaido (Susukino). You can follow up on the channel here.
Kampai
Brian
G’day,
In my latest YouTube Video here, I do the wrap up video for 7 Day’s of Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt Whiskies and rank them from last to first place.
Kampai
Brian
Hey friends,
I’m about half way through my YouTube reviews of the Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt “standard” range, No Age Statement through to 35 Year Old. You can check them on my channel here.
Kampai
Brian
Hi friends,
In my latest YouTube video here, I review the Miyagikyo Grande Single Malt Limited Edition 2022. Are these no age statement Nikka Whiskies worth the money being asked. Lets find out!
Kampai
Brian
Nose: Noses somewhat like a Yoichi. Earthy peat(very Yoichi), blueberries(very Yoichi), ripe peaches. Worn in denim, minerals. There’s a soft perfume note that floats over the top. Some heated copper and sulphur that I found on the palate of the Yoichi Non-Peated with water added.
Palate: This is where this whisky really starts to shine. Rich and oily mouth feel. Earthy peat, milk chocolate, cafe latte, toffee, honey, vanilla sponge cake, pepper, cashews, butter. Some peach sherbet with water added. Full bodied.
Finish: Earthy, oily, oaky. Leather, cashews, toffee and some subtle smokiness. Water brings out pepper, minerality, more oak tannins and lengthens the finish.
Last Word: Like it’s counterpart the Yoichi Non-Peated, I’m not convinced this is worth the asking price. However, this is a big step up in balance and complexity of the standard Miyagikyo No Age Statement and a pleasant surprise.
Rating: 89/100
Nose: Light earthy peat. Nutmeg, wet wool, cacao powder, pears, white peaches, red apple skins, licorice root. A savoury note with water added.
Palate: Fermented pears and apples, vanilla, chilli flakes, white oak, nutmeg, salt, licorice root, butter, icing sugar. Some orange sherbet with water added. Medium bodied.
Finish: Nutmeg, cacao powder, almonds, licorice root, butter beans, ash. Touch of lemon and some juicy oranges with water added.
Last Word: A decent whisky that improves a month or so after opening and the fill level drops. However, not really a patch on the previous version with the dark label.
I suspect the main reason is a dearth of sherry cask mature whiskies at Nikka’s distilleries. Seems to me there is no sherry cask whisky in this newer blend, where it is an obvious influence in the previous version which was much richer and rounder. If you can still get your hands on the older version, run don’t walk to stock up!
Rating: 82/100
Nose: Cherries, vanilla, gingerbread, lemon cake, grapefruit, pineapple. Shellfish, varnish, tart green apples, hint of struck match. Youthful but mellows out somewhat with time in the glass.
Palate: Pears, green apples, lemon cake, mandarins. Shellfish, banana, pineapple, salt, grilled cheese, lemon sherbet, lime juice. The fruits become juicier with water added. Light bodied.
Finish: Dried pears, dried apples, wood shavings, mandarins, green apple peels, cream. Some late menthol and ash.
Last Word: Like the Yoichi version the influence of the Apple Brandy Wood Finish is subtle. Plenty of signature Miyagikyo notes and flavors and a decent step up in complexity from the standard no age statement single malt.
Rating: 86/100
Nose: Oranges, cherries, vanilla, toffee, marmalade, a touch of struck match.
Palate: Cola, oranges, cherries, vanilla, icing sugar, cocoa. Somewhat bourbonesque in style. Light Bodied.
Finish: Cola, caramelized oranges, creamed cherry chocolate.
Last Word: Decent single malt but my least favorite of those I’ve tasted in the series being inferior in my opinion to both the Moscatel and Port Wood finishes.
Rating: 84/100
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!
The 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.
I’ve heard this or read about this very question many times over the last decade.
Sometimes it is related to distilling technique, sometimes as an historical time line and most often about the quality of the product.
When you strip the question to the bare bones it unfortunately ends up covering the spectrum of both simplistic to complex.
So….lets delve into a stripped back version Japanese Whisky one-o’-one.
Japanese Whisky is based on Scottish Whisky Distillery principles. Pot stills, malted barley(for single malts), grains(corn and or other grains) and usually double distilled(wash still and spirit still). The barley may be peated or unpeated and for the most part over the years is not sourced from Japan due to cost. Europe, mainly Germany and Australia in Asia(yes Aussie is considered part of Asia), have been two major sources or barley for Japanese Whisky production.
The pot still’s also for the most part, are built and shipped in from the UK for instance, Forsyth’s.
The water source as in Scottish whisky production is considered of paramount importance. The site for Japans first home grown whisky distillery Yamazaki was specifically chosen by the founder Shinkiro Tori because of the quality of the local water source. Yoichi distillery in the northen part of Japan was specifically chosen by it’s founder Masataka Taketsuru because the geographical area reminded him the most of Scotland where as a young chemist, he learned the art of whisky distilling.
So how did home grown Japanese Whisky Distilling begin?
One common theme I’ve heard is that Masataka Taketsuru the founder of Nikka was sent to Scotland at the behest of Shinjiro Tori(the founder of Suntory) to study the art of whisky distilling.
The two men did know each other but Taketsuru was dispatched to Scotland by his then employer Settsu Shuzo. On Taketsurus’ return, Settsu Shuzo, for want of a better word, no longer had the where with all to support a whisky distilling endeavour. Call it kismet, but the fledgling Suntory in need of a master distillery/distilery manager for the Yamazaki Distillery found the perfect person in the then unemployed Taketsuru.
Ok, I’m not going to bore you with a more detailed history as there are some differences between the Japanese ‘Big Two” whisky companies but historically it all leads back to Scotland.
So….we have all the fundamental ingredients in Japanese whisky as we do in Scotland, grain, water, pot still/s, oak barrels and at least for the legit Japanese whisky distilleries, cannot be labelled whisky until three years old.
A matter of respect! Anyone who has visited Japan will know that the Japanese when they take to any niche, they respect and embrace the cultures they eminated from to the nth degree. It could be Jazz music, Flamenco dancing, Silent Films or booze.
Did you know that Suntory spent a decade developing the blue rose? This wasn’t just for shit’s and giggles, but out of respect for Scottish whisky distilling history and the blue in the Scottish flag.
Now down to the brass tacks…….
There will be some cultural differences between Scottish and Japanese Whisky production philosophies which have nothing to do with a rivalry. The two biggest differences these days are cost and availability.
Availability: Scottish whisky is far more readily available in volume, number of distilleries and age statement bottling’s.
Cost: Scottish whisky is easily more affordable for the same quality and or, same age as the Japanese equivalent.
Both countries can produce whisky that is a silk purse or a sow’s ear!
You all know the basic story! Japanese Whisky is in the duldrums in the early 2000’s or a bit earlier. The big two Japanese Whisky producers Suntory and Nikka(parent Asahi), ramp down production. After all, the big two do not survive on whisky alone so there is a safety net. Japanese Whisky from virtually out of nowhere gains traction in the West in around 2009 followed in the East a few years later. This actually parallel’s the international explosion of whisky(ey) as a beverage of choice worldwide. Think new money/burgeoning economies, India, China, South East Asia.
The gushing of some influential whisky bloggers(certainly not me), better accessabilty outside of Japan and a host of international awards and Japanese Whisky is the darling of the whisky/key scene. From zero to hero and all of a sudden demand far exceeds supply! Stock shortage enshews followed by panic stations! Age statement after age statement bottling’s are dropped from the lineups, replaced by no age statement versions.
I’ll fast forward through the time line of each no age statement replacements and focus on some ‘spin’ from the distilleries.
This is the stuff I have read in articles and a couple recent books on Japanese Whisky. Whisky writer interviews Master Distiller. Master Distiller says if we do not have the ‘restrictions’ of an age statement, we have a larger canvas to paint with. Example, if the bottle is no age statement we can blend any whisky from 3 years old and up where before, if we had a 12 year age statement, we can only use 12 year old whisky and up. Fundamently I have no problem with the theory if……the no age statement bottling’s are as good as the age statment whiskie’s they have replaced and the cost is commensurate(if the average age is less).
Herien lies my issue. Almost without exception, the no age statment bottling’s are not as good as the age statement bottling’s they have replaced and on like for like pricing when the age statement bottling’s were standard, the age statement bottling’s were cheaper.
Some examples in Aussie dollars –
Hibiki Harmony NAS ave price $AUD150 – not sure what they are going for in Japan. Last tasted yesterday, my own 2019 bottle.
Hibiki 17YO when a standard bottling $AUD135 – Y10,000 in Japan. Hibiki 21 Y20,000
There have been improvements since the first NAS bottling’s were released but the NAS is still only 70% as good a whisky as the 17YO.
Yoichi NAS – $AUD125
Owned and opened 3 bottles and closer now to the Yoichi 10 but double or more the price of the Yoichi 10 when available. Last tasted July 2019, my own 2019 bottle.
Yoichi 10 when a standard bottling Y4500. Yoichi 12 Y6500. Yoichi 15 Y10,000. Yoichi 20 Y20,000.
Miyagiyo NAS – Ave price $AUD135. I’ve owned and opened a couple of bottles and tasted a 2019 and not a patch on the age statements. 2019 bottling tasted at WhiskyLive July 2019. Have my own(older) open bottle as well.
Age statements were the same price structure as Yoichi minus a 20YO which was never offered
Yamazaki NAS – In style it is pure Yamazaki and cracked a newly arrived bottle today. $AUD125.
12 year old is now $AUD250. NAS I’d say is better than half the price of the 12(these days’s) but again, 20% not as good when the 12 was at 75 bucks. Yamazaki 10 when a standard bottling Y5000, Yamazaki 12 Y7000, Yamazaki 18 Y20,000
Hakushu NAS – A big disappointment – Owned and drunk a few bottle’s and not a patch on the 12YO. Yes, there are the clean forest notes of the 12 but what happened to the peat and pepper? This was Japans Talisker 10 before it was emancipated. Last tasted June 2019, my own 2018 bottle.
Age statements were the same price structure as Yamazaki.
Nikka Taketusru NAS – This is the biggest improver for me. Latest bottling’s seems to have a bigger/older Sherry Cask influence. Still, AUD$125 for the NAS when back in the day even the 21YO was about 100 bucks!!!! Despite all that, along with Nikka FTB this is my current Nikka of choice! Last tasted a week ago, my own 2019 bottle.
Taketsuru 12 when a standard bottling Y2500, Taketsuru 17 Y7000, Taketsuru 21 Y10,000
So there we have it, age statement Japanese Whiskies swapped out for no age statement whiskies and in almost every case, the no age statement versions are inferior and yet cost more.
Knowing what we know, the big two Japanese Whisky producers currently have no choice but to release no age statement whiskies. I can cop that but prices should be commensurate with having a lot of younger whiskies in the mix and the no age statement offering’s not being on par with even the youngest age statement offerings’s. If I was to put an empertical value on the no age statement bottling’s, they should be priced 30% less than the old age statment bottling’s!
Nose: Red berries, plum juice, wood stain, strawberry jam, grapefruit, wood shavings, raisins, white pepper, some earthiness, dusty oak.
Palate: You notice the Moscatel Wood influence but it’s not overpowering. Red apples, toffee, cranberries, raisins, fermented strawberries, salt, vanilla, cinnamon. Quite viscous and oily.
Finish: Medium length. Balsamic mixed with olive oil, charred oak and cinnamon bark.
Last Word: Approachable and nicely balanced between sweet, bitter and savory elements. The Moscatel Wood finish is very well integrated.
Rating: 87/100
Nose: Red Grapes, quince paste, marmalade, sherry, blueberries, vanilla, toffee, balsamic, Bonox(beef stock paste), a little pepper and coal. I’d class it as velvety and satisfyingly rich.
Palate: Cocoa powder, chocolate mouse, coffee beans, sherry, vanilla, Brazil nuts, blueberries, salt, cloves, raisins, oily.
Finish: Sherry, Brazil nuts, cocoa powder, minerals, raisins, coal, cigar leaf.
Last Word: I spent around 30 minutes chatting at the Nikka stand at WhiskyLive last weekend. There were 6 expressions on offer and the general consensus seemed to be this was the pick of the litter. For myself this has either a lot of excellent young malt whiskies in the mix or, and I believe this is more the case, a large chunk of older whiskies in the mix especially from sherry casks. I bought a bottle straight away so that should be enough of an endorsement. A huge improvement over the my last bottle of no age statement Taketsuru, significantly better than the last bottle of Taketsuru 12 I had and in all honesty, if this quality remains I won’t need to lament the discontinuance of the 17 year old.
Rating: 87/100
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
Nose: Honey, brine, chocolate, preserved pears, hint of earthy peat, seaweed, greed apples, marshmallows, coal.
Palate: Chocolate, brine, red grapes, read apples, brine, blueberries, a little oily but overall the body is thin and brittle.
Finish: Some brine, earthy peat, ash blueberries, pie crust. The oiliness is more evident on the finish:
Last Word: Can’t really hang with a good batch of the 17 or 21 year olds. Not sure if it is just the low abv but too thin and brittle for my tastes.
Rating: 80/100
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
Woo Hoo! What an awesome, ye glorious year 2018 was for Japanese Whisky!
Sorry, my bad, that was 2010!
So, as 2018 comes to a close it’s time for the reality check.
It should really only take a few lines because as the title says, it was the year that wasn’t. Now we can throw at least couple of years prior tp 2018 in the same basket but as it has been pointed out by punters with boots on the ground, it seems that by and large, this was the worst year for them trying to access ‘interesting’ Japanese whisky. We’re not talking about the ridiculously priced auction stuff but what you can buy at retail liquor stores in Japan or abroad. If you haven’t been following you can read the many stories of frustration on the Buying Japanese Whisky in Japan 2018 report.
How bad is the drought? Well Suntory, a giant conglomerate and the biggest producer of whisky in Japan, is down to a single readily available age statement whisky, Yamazaki 12. They did however generously(sarcasm), delete two popular age statement whiskies Hakushu 12 and Hibiki 17 from their portfolio. They replaced for want of a better word, Hibiki 17 with Hibiki Blenders Choice but that so far was for Japan only. Have not tried it myself but readers have reported not as good as the 17 year old. They did not even release a limited edition this year like the Yamazaki LE of previous years.
Moving on to Nikka we still have a core range based on No Age Statement Whiskies. Then we had the Manzanilla Wood Finish Yoichi and Miyagikyo for Japan and the Sherry Wood and Bourbon Wood Finished Yoichi and Miyagikyo for Europe. Bourbon Wood Finish……how exotic! Sherry Wood Finished……previously any Yoichi or Miyagikyo I’ve tasted from sherry casks were fully matured in that cask type. Basically, not enough sherry cask whisky at Nikka so they can only afford to use some for finishing. All the limited releases were also without an age statement. In previous years, at least there were single cask releases of Yoichi and Miyagikyo even though they were tough to get if you weren’t in Japan.
As an aside, early next year I’m going to post my thoughts on Japanese No Age Statement Whiskies so please bear with me on that story.
Chichibu, I think in a number of markets it’s relatively easy to find the Blend, Mizunara and Wine Wood Finish and the Double Distilleries. Limited releases fly off the shelves in Japan or are already bought up on pre-order. We’ve all seen the second hand prices of Single Cask Chichibu and I’m sure no one even a couple of years thought we would live in a world of $1000+ 5-6 year distilled only in the last 10 years. No fault there from a distillery that currently only releases about 150,000 bottles a year. These guys cannot be expected to make up for the short fall of the ‘Big Two’ Suntory and Nikka.
Eigashima White Oak Distillery, tiny concern with limited production runs gave us maybe 8-10 age statement whiskies up to 10 years old, a number being single casks. Good for them and I mean that! It is one of the few positives about the halo effect of the current popularity of Japanese Whisky. The little guys can now confidently sell everything they produce and consequently are happy to continue to distill whisky. Pricing though if you are not in Japan and cannot buy these Akashi for retail price can be problematic as they are often being sold abroad often 3 times or more. It’s a hell of a lot of money for young whiskies!
Mars follows the Eigashima story quite closely as far as number of releases in 2018. At least in Australia though, Mars is more readily available. Our largest discount liquor store chain has at one stage or another throughout the 2018 sold 8 different Mars bottling’s consisting of their core range plus 5 limited releases. That number comes close to equaling the total number of offerings from the ‘Big Two’ sold by the same chain in 2018.
There were a number of new pot/new make spirits released primarily in Japan. Good news for the future but of no impact at all on the over all state of play in 2018.
If you are like me, you would have done internet searches for Japanese Whisky News throughout 2018. Really just a case of nothing to see here and the majority of news was about the Japanese Whisky drought and discontinued age statement bottling’s.
You don’t have to be Nostradamus to see a basic repeat of 2018 in 2019. If you are a fan of Japanese Whiskies I can only suggest to keep your wits about you and be ready to pounce on any new bottling’s released in 2019.
Down the track both Chichibu and Mars should offer a little more relief from the drought. Mars in 2020 when some true(whisky aged at least three years) starts being bottled from the Tsunuki Distillery. Chichibu a little later once the second distillery which will run concurrently with original distillery and be 5 times the size, bottles whisky in around 2023. The other new distilleries looking to release Japanese Whisky in 2020 should at least provide us with some variety if not a big boost in overall output.
The true turn around however will only start when the Big Two, Suntory and Nikka, start churning out significant numbers of age statement whiskies again. When that will be is anyone’s guess!
After our tour of Chichibu Distillery had completed I asked if our tour guide Soma could recommend a good whisky bar in Chichibu town. He recommended Bar Te – Airigh and what an awesome recommendation it was. Now Soma called the bar Bar Cherry, as did Chichibu Brand Ambassador Yumi. I tried a google search that would translate Bar Te – Airigh to Bar Cherry but I could not find one.
Walking through the door into this awesome whisky cave felt immediately like home. Fantastic laid back vibe and friendly English speaking owner Takeshi Yokota. Bottles total around 600 of all types of whisky and about 150 of those are Japanese. Now 150 bottles of Japanese Whisky is tantalizing enough, but what makes Bar Cherry stand out from the crowd is probably the best selection of Chichibu Whisky available. Roughly half the bottles of Japanese Whisky are Chichibu, with so many being limited releases including the bars own bottling.
I also found the bar great value and there is no seating charge. I had full shots of 2 Single Cask Chichibu, 1 being from a sample bottle of Chichibu that will be a bar exclusive released in a few months. Also 1 Miyagikyo Limited Release and Scotch Malt Whisky Society 119.14 Yamazaki and Scotch Malt Whisky Society 120.7 Hakushu both from Spanish Oak Bota Corta casks. My girlfriend had 3 JD mixers and we both had ham and cheese toasties and 1 x homemade baked cheese cake. Total price was about AUD$195 or US$145. If you know the prices of full bottles of the ones I tasted you will know why I think this was great value.
Takeshi san also graciously lined up the 6 2018 New Pot from the Shizuoka Distillery for me to try gratis.
It takes around 70 minutes by Limited Express train to reach Chichibu from Ikebukuro Station Tokyo and the last 30 minutes or so winds its way through some lovely Japanese country side. As we did not know what time we would return from Chichibu we bought 1 way tickets in each direction. Total cost for the train tickets was about US$22 per person. All seats on the Limited Express trains are reserved so allow yourself enough time at Ikebukuro station to purchase these. There is a Limited Express office about 20 meters from the platform that the Chichibu LE train leaves from.
Bar Cherry is about a 15 minute walk or a few minutes by taxi from Chichibu Station. The address is 8-4 Daiichi-Isida Bld, Miyakawacho, Chichibu-shi Saitama 386-0046 Japan. Ph: 0494-24-8833.
Bar opens at 5PM and the last Limited Express back from Tokyo leave at around 10.25PM from memory. Takeshi san can advise of train times. We went on a Monday. Please check with the bar prior to visiting that they will be open on that day. You can send a message via the Facebook page.
I don’t pay a lot of attention to the non Japanese Whiskies as I focus on stuff relevant to Japanese Whisky Blog, but you can get an idea of other Whiskies by checking out the Facebook page or the bars blog.
I cannot recommend Bar Te – Airigh(Bar Cherry) highly enough and it is now my favorite Whisky Bar!
Nose: Earthy peat, damp forest floor, sugared lemons, salted poached pears, saddle bags, orange peels, balsamic, apricots, brine, sour dough, mint leaves, salted cashews, diesel fumes, lychee’s. No single element overwhelms.
Palate: The salted poaches pears. Salted caramel chews, nutmeg, cashews, mint chocolate, earthy peat, diesel, menthol, white grapes, pepper, lychee, lemon sherbet, oily. Very approachable at 63%abv.
Finish: Medium length. Nutmeg, mint chocolate, seaweed, lemon curd, diesel fumes, orange peels.
Last Word: Wonderfully harmonious and complex and as mentioned no single element overwhelms so each flavor and nuance is given it’s chance to shine. They could have name this Peaty, Salty, Fruity and Nutty. Bravo Yoichi!
Rating: 93/100
Note: As far as I know this is the only record of this bottling that exists and it’s a privilege for my local whisky group to be the proud owners of a bottle.
Nose: Not a huge sherry bomb nose. Blood oranges, dried fruits, leather, dusty old bar, cherry cream, raspberries, incense, some flintiness.
Palate: Pineapples, mango, papaya(paw paw), cherry cream filled chocolate, fried banana, flames from a gas BBQ, nutmeg, blood oranges, nougat. Creamy mouth feel. If you have tasted the Miyagikyo Sherry & Sweet this is quite different.
Finish: Dried mango and papaya, raspberries, nutmeg, nouget, some palate drying oak.
Last Word: An intriguing sherry cask matured with a strong tropical fruit influence. Not a heavy hitter on nose or palate but elegant and harmonious.
Rating: 89/100