![]() A D is one star and a D- one-half of a star.Once a spirit reserved for those in the know, Japanese whisky is having a moment-one that’s in fact now lasted decades. A C- is two stars.ĭ+ to D-: Below average whiskey. A B- is three stars.Ĭ+ to C-: Average whiskey. The best of the mass market whiskeys fit in this category, as do the bulk of the premium brands. Five stars.Ī-: A fine bottle of whiskey, representing the top end of the conventional, premium range.ī and B-: Good and above average. Above five stars.Ī: An outstanding bottle of whiskey, but lacking that special something which makes for a true masterpiece. A+: A masterpiece and one of the ten best whiskeys of its type. Some "premium" whiskeys really are quite terrible, while some mass market products are good enough to pour into a decanter and serve to the Duke of Edinburgh. The following indicators should be taken as only a guide and not a set of hard and fast rules. The Whiskey Reviewer uses a letter-based rating system, instead of the numerical 100-grade rating system. It’s a fruity, easy drinking Japanese whisky, with just a whiff of smoke to keep it interesting. This shift in sourcing is why Toki can be $10 cheaper than Hibiki Harmony. Moreover, it is mostly aged in ex-Bourbon barrels, with some Yamazaki Spanish oak-aged stock in there too. Whereas the Hibiki blends, like the aforementioned Harmony, base themselves on Yamazaki malt, Toki leans more on Hakushu and Chita grain whiskies. It’s noted as an approachable light, and lightly oaked, whisky, smacking of honeyed citrus. Between the three distilleries, there is whisky in this blend aged in five different types of cask, including ex-bourbon barrels, new American white oak, Sherry butts and Japan’s own Mizunara oak. This Suntory NAS blend is made with malts from Yamazaki and Hakushu, as well as grain whisky from Chita. By making malt in a column still, they produced a lighter, sweeter malt whisky. In the Scotch production model followed in Japan, column stills are usually reserved for making grain, not malt, whisky. What sets it apart from the Pure Malt is that it was made using not pot stills, but column (Coffey) stills. Like the Taketsuru Pure Malt, it’s a blend of malts. This is a relatively new expression from Nikka, an NAS added in 2014 and a counterpart to their Coffey Grain. Moreover, it’s $30 cheaper than the 12 Year old Takestsuru Pure Malt. This is the NAS version of Nikka Pure Malt, and while some people turn their noses up at anything without an age statement, it’s still a widely appreciated expression. Speaking of Nikka founder Masataka Taketsuru, this vatted malt whisky blends contributions from Yoichi and Miyagikyo, aged in ex-bourbon barrels, new American oak casks, and refilled Sherry butts. Mars Shinshu Iwai Tradition represents the distillery’s mid-range blended whisky. Mars sits in a high altitude village, where winters can be bitterly cold, but summers are often mild. They are noted for their straight-head stills, designed by Kiichiro Iwai and based on Japanese whisky Founding Father Masataka Taketsuru’s design, and for their location. The distillery dates back to 1985, and suffered a closure from 1992 to 2007. ![]() It doesn’t quite fit that model, because it is independent rather than being small or new. Mars is often referred to, somewhat erroneously, as a Japanese craft distillery. Here are five Japanese whiskies that all cost less than the typical Fast Cash withdrawal from an ATM: It’s the premium stuff that we see internationally, and a small stock of the it has to be shared globally.Įven so, it’s not like Japanese whiskies are unobtainable or unaffordable. Many of the reasonably priced, mass market Japanese whiskies are kept at home, and appear abroad only as pricey special import items. Ireland is home to just 4 million people, and nearly all of its whiskey is exported Japan hosts a population of 128 million. Japanese whisky has become wildly popular around the world recently, and this sudden surge of demand fell on a whisky industry that is roughly comparable to the Irish industry in terms of size, but one that has a vastly larger domestic market to tend to. Japanese whisky is as expensive or more expensive than comparable Scotch whiskies, and many key expressions are a damn sight harder to find. The two big stumbling blocks for anyone trying to get into Japanese whisky are the price tag and availability.
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