What I Did On My Holidays (in Japan)

 

The first six bottles

Earlier in the year I went to Japan on holiday with the family, and brought back some whiskies to share with everyone at the club. I managed fit five into a spare suitcase, and added one sourced here in the UK and then a bonus seventh dram from the club's stocks, to present a varied line-up of Japanese drams.

Hishida Newborn No 1

We haven't often had much from Japan at the club over the years, simply because there isn't that much of it around and what there is, is pretty sought after and therefore expensive. So this particular tasting was one of the most anticipated we've run, and sold out to members on the very morning tickets went on sale.

No pressure then, and the first whisky in the line-up was brand new. Trying to source some drams not typically available in the UK led me to the Hishida Newborn No 1, the inaugural release from Tensei Shuzo, which admittedly has 120 years of making sake and shochu behind it. Hishida is the name of their water supply on Kyushu Island, and they say the warm climate helps it mature quickly.

Nikka Session

A mixture of malt and grain whisky, with the malt coming from the UK and Germany and some local grain, the malt is matured in a mix of port and white oak casks with the grain spending time in ex-bourbon. I paid £27 for this in a whisky shop in Osaka, and it's 47%. Tasting a bit new makey, it did give us bits of cinnamon, tea and some smoke, along with a more vanilla and woody aftertaste.

Next was one of the big names in Japanese whisky, Nikka, and their Session blend. The category of 'world blend' is quite common, with producers mixing a little home spirit with stuff sources from places including Scotland and Canada. This particular expression is a cut above some of those lower quality offerings, using liquid from Nikka's three distilleries - two in Japan and Ben Nevis, which they own.

Light and sweet, with hints of green apples, tropical fruit, mint and a certain pepperiness, this is a nice easy drinker. It's 43% and I got it in Tokyo for just £19, although if you want a bottle here it'll set you back several times that.

Hibiki BC

The other biggie in the Japanese whisky canon is Suntory, and I represented them in this tasting with a bottle of Blenders Choice from the Hibiki brand. This was launched a few years back in place of their 17-year-old, presumably so they could make more of a relatively scarce resource. A mix of malts from Yamazaki and Hakushu, along with some of their Chita grain whisky, this was another sweet one. Toffee and custard on the nose, almost like creme brulee. More green apples too, although we weren't sure about the official tasting note of creamy rice pudding.

This is typically £200 in the UK, although I paid just over half that for my bottle, in the same Tokyo shop where I got the Nikka. 

For half-time I rustled up some sweet Japanese snacks from the shop around the corner from the Seven Oaks in Chinatown, and dished out some different flavoured packets of the classic Pocky to everyone (although not straight from the freezer, as recommended here by Hatsune Miku).

Sakurao Sherry Cask

A newer name in Japanese whisky is Sakurao, a distillery based on the coast near Hiroshima. As with most booze manufacturers in Japan it has a long history of brewing and distilling other drinks, and even produced whisky before moving away from it in the 1980s, coming back since 2018 as a highball craze helps boost local interest in whisky.

This was their sherry cask, the first addition to their new core range. No age statement but probably about three years or so, this was aged in cream sherry hogsheads. Matured close to the sea in one of the distillery's two ageing locations, this has savoury notes with hints of miso but also a jammy sweetness from the sherry, there were hints of chocolate and marzipan on the palate. Very nice indeed. This was 50% and cost me £67, again picked up in Osaka.

BBR Togouchi

Whisky number five was the one I added to the list here in the UK. The Sakurao distillery has a second brand, Togouchi, and I had a bottling of it from Berry Brothers and Rudd. Togouchi was previously used for their lower-quality world blends, but the distillery is now trying to reimagine it for some of their own produce, although in contrast to the Sakurao this is matured in a second location, an old railway tunnel.

This was a single malt, and according to BBR it's "crisp, poised and fragrant." We certainly got some familiar green apples from it, on both the nose and the palate, with minerals and spiciness as well. It's available for £95 and comes in at 50.8%.

Akkeshi

I pushed the boat out a bit for dram number six. Looking for something cask strength and independently bottled, neither of which are necessarily commonplace in drams widely available at a reasonable price even in Japan, I found a bottling of Akkeshi to share. This is a newish distillery on the northern Hokkaido island, aimed at being a 'little Lagavulin' for its Islay stylings.

The particular expression, Hanaguwashi Karinpani, was a joint bottling from a consortium of four Tokyo whisky bars and shops, including the well-known Liquors Hasegawa, a shop in the arcade underneath the capital's main railway station. This was matured mainly in sherry casks, with some use of Japanese mizunara and cherry wood, to complement the peated spirit.

It was available by lottery only so I picked up a bottle second hand, paying a rather over-the-odds £203, in a shop in Osaka.  The reward was floral notes on the nose, including the inevitable cherry blossoms as seen on the label. The taste was custard, with citrus, ginger and a definite smoky saltiness.

The first half a dozen (and a pint)

There was a bonus seventh dram (no photo of this, so you'll have to take my word for it). Another Nikka, a Coffey Grain: Woody and Mellow, brought back from the distillery itself some years ago by club member Tom. This was a no age statement replacement for their 12-year-old, as they also tried to make the most of their perhaps limited stocks.

Soft and sweet with strong notes of maple and fruit on both the nose and the palate, this was very nice, with a long aftertaste and hints of rum and molasses. Tom got this for £35 locally, although you can pick it up for a shade under £100 here.

Dram of the night was, perhaps unsurprisingly for a membership which often loves a peat monster, the Akkeshi with 13 votes. The Sakurao was second and the Togouchi third.

Thanks to all club members for making it such a great tasting, and to all at the Seven Oaks for hosting us again.