Japanese whiskies are the new rage among aficionados. INN Live tells us why drams such as Yamazaki and Yoichi are winning palates the world over. Japan has a rich drinking culture that goes back hundreds of years and, obviously, rice has had a major role to play in it.
The Japanese make sake, jijake and awamori and the source for all these spirits is rice, in brewed or distilled form. Apparently, during WW-II, Allied aircraft destroyed large quantities of awamori, which were being matured in oversized ceramic jars for years, at Okinawa. As a result, and sadly, all awamori currently available is not more than 60 years old.
Whisky, however, is not native to Japan and, like in India, it was brought from outside. The only difference, though, is that Japan, unlike India, was never colonised and no foreigner ever built a distillery in Japan (the first distilleries in India were owned by the British). The Japanese were introduced to whisky by overseas trade missions and the soldiers of fortune that were contracted with the Emperor.
The demand was encouraging enough for some local distillers to produce “whisky” from all kinds of sources, but the end product was nowhere near in taste and flavour to imported whisky from Scotland or bourbon from the US. All that changed when a young man named Masataka Taketsuru arrived on the scene.
A chemistry student, Masataka was sent by his employers to Scotland to unravel the secrets of making whisky. Not surprisingly, the Scots weren’t too eager to part with their secret, but, after months of trying, he found a guru in JR Grant, the distillery manager of Longmorn.
Masataka had a short stint at the distillery, but he possessed immense grasping power. He noted down everything in detail about the distillery, and it is said that his notes on Scottish distilleries were so thorough that they later became the bible of the Japanese whisky industry.
After working at a few other distilleries, Masataka arrived in Campbeltown, the home of Springbank, where he spent the rest of his time in Scotland. Besides learning the art of whisky making in Campbeltown, he also fell in love with the daughter of a local doctor. He married Jesse Roberta Cowan and sailed back to Japan in 1920. In 1923, Masataka was hired by the visionary businessman Shinjiro Tori and entrusted with the task of setting up the first proper whisky distillery in Japan, near Kyoto.
Masataka built the Suntory Yamazaki distillery for Tori, produced the Yamazaki whisky, and worked with him for nearly a decade before leaving Kyoto to make whisky all by himself. He wanted to set up a distillery in a place with terroir similar to Scotland, and, in Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s four main islands, he found just the place.
Just as the Gulf Stream brings rain to Scotland from the Atlantic Ocean, the warm Kuroshio current brings copious rains to Hokkaido from the Pacific Ocean. The result is that the entire mountainous region on the island is blessed with crystal clear springs and, what’s more, they flow through unending peat fields. You cannot have a better combination than that to make whisky. Masataka bought a piece of land in Yoichi, Hokkaido, and named the distillery Nikka.
Since the early 2000s, Japanese whiskies have been stealing the show at various international competitions. In 2001, the 10-year-old (YO) Yoichi won the best of best at Whisky Magazine awards. In 2003, the Yamazaki 12 YO bagged a gold medal at the International Spirits Challenge, and, more recently, at the 2012 Whisky Magazine world whisky awards, the Yamazaki 25 YO was adjudged the world’s best single malt and the 17 YO Taketsuru Nikka, the world best blended malt.
A shrinking market for the whiskies at home (demand has fallen by almost 75% in the country, according to Japan Times), and an increasing fan base abroad, has ensured that Japanese whisky makers are reaching out to global whisky consumers.
International tastings and competitions conducted by Japanese distillers have ensured that Japanese whiskies are serious contenders around the world. While Nikka is targeting the emerging markets of Sweden and France, Suntory is looking at India, Europe and the United States.
In 2011, Indian liquor distillery Radico Khaitan entered into an agreement with Japanese firm Suntory to market Yamazaki and Hibiki whiskies in India. Suntory’s 12 YO single malt, Yamazaki, and 17 YO blended whisky, Hibiki, is being marketed at premium bars and retail outlets across metros since July 2011, and cost between Rs 6,500 and Rs 10,000. Suntory, which is also available in Europe and the US, sold 7,000 cases of Hibiki in 2012. This year’s target is 9,000 cases. Suntory also is aiming to sell 31,000 cases overseas of its flagship Yamazaki brand across the world, up 24% from 25,000 last year.
Japanese whisky is similar to single malt scotch whisky. You can’t tell the difference. The reason why Japan produces good whisky is due to strict adherence to quality and the way the whisky is made. Quality whisky can’t be made without passion and the meticulous Japanese ensure that only the best is produced and bottled. The distilled spirit is matured after careful secondhand cask selection, and the casks are sourced both from Spain (sherry casks) and the US (bourbon casks). Sherry casks yield a dark, fruity, spicy and complex final product, but they are more expensive than bourbon casks. Some Japanese distilleries such as Yamazaki use Mizunara, a local white oak, which imparts a distinct oaky flavour and odd sweet notes to the whisky.
Yamazaki Rebuilt several times over the last 80-odd years, Yamazaki has about 12 stills of different shapes and sizes to cater to the constantly increasing demand. The distillery uses a variety of casks for its whisky, such as sherry, ex-bourbon, European oak and the local Mizunara. The standard 12 YO, the distillery’s biggest seller, is bottled at 43% alcohol by volume (abv), but the complex, higher-aged whiskies, matured in sherry and Mizunara casks, are the most sought-after Yamazakis.
Yoichi Thanks to Hokkaido’s cold climate, the spirit that transforms into a fine whisky takes a longer time to mature and extracts more complexities from the wood. An abundance of peat on the island makes Yoichi the peatiest of all Japanese whiskies.
Hakushu Suntory set up this distillery, situated at a height of 2,200 feet, in the 1970s, and, shortly afterwards, its 36 pot stills were producing continuous pure spirit.
Karuizawa The now-defunct distillery was built at the foothills of Mount Asama, an active volcano, in 1955. In its heyday, the distillery produced some of the best whiskies in Japan. Since the distillery is mothballed, stocks of Karuizawa are depleting fast and are much sought-after at auction houses in Europe.
The above-mentioned whiskies are all single malts, but if one wants a more general and easily available Japanese whisky, my suggestion would be Hibiki blended whisky. Hibiki is as good as any top-notch blended whisky and has won several accolades at international competitions. Kanpai!
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