Love my Scotch and Irish but I've never tried Japanese.
Can anyone recommend some good smooth Japanese whisky please?
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Love my Scotch and Irish but I've never tried Japanese.
Can anyone recommend some good smooth Japanese whisky please?
I can only say I’ve tried this and it’s ace
Yamazaki Distillery Reserve Single Malt Whisky, 70cl https://amzn.eu/d/5g3zSiA
Heard good things about this, but. Ever tried jr
Nikka From The Barrel Blended Japanese Whisky, 50 cl https://amzn.eu/d/ehkTMIH
From what one can currently readily get, I would opt for the NAS Distiller Reserve, either Yamazaki or Hakushu.
Yamazaki 12 has become a staple in my Whisky diet. Another vote for Nikka too.
Nikka from the barrel is Scotch labelled as Japanese under their very lax laws, which will thankfully change soonQuote:
Originally Posted by Wolfie
Waitrose offer a few to choose from.
I’ve had Nikka from the Barrel, and also Yamasaki. Yamasaki seems less available from the mainstream retailers than the last time I looked. Amazon has it for a decent price.
Nikka FTB is 51% so not for the faint hearted. You can taste the alcohol increase.
I enjoyed both. Yamasaki if I had the choice again as it was less alcohol, more flavour, in my limited experience.
Nikka isn’t Japanese? I’ve never tried it, just had it as a recommendationQuote:
Originally Posted by IanBear
Somebody has to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD9gKViR-XY
I had a bottle once but didn't think much to it.
Interested in this too. I went to Japan a couple of years ago and wanted to get a watch, knife, and whiskey. Got the first two but left the last to the airport and there was very little there except for Scotch.
Any views on Hibiki?
This is one of the nicest whiskies I’ve tried (and I’ve had a few [emoji4]):
I https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...19f74ef165.jpg
Thanks, I knew that TZ would be able to help with this one!
Is there some kind of shortage right now?
I thought that particular bottling is a genuine Japanese spirit rather than a Scottish one? In fact, I could have sworn it's Japanese. Regardless, I quite enjoy it personally, in fact I was drinking it in a local bar only a couple of nights ago!Quote:
Originally Posted by IanBear
OP - Suntory's Toki (Toki is translated as "time") is only good enough for mixing/cocktails, I'd avoid it neat. Other than that my only experience with the few Japanese whiskies I've tried are £70 upwards, of which Hibiki's Harmony was decent. If you have the £££ then Yamazaki's 18 is one of the best whiskies I've ever had.
My all time favourite film, that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Curta
Nikka is a Japanese brand with their own Japanese distilleries however not all Japanese branded whisky is Japanese, some of it is actually Scottish. As IB has mentioned, plans are afoot to address particular marketing issues.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wolfie
That feels very disingenuous…Quote:
Originally Posted by CardShark
+1 for nikka from the barrel even with the above.
Toki’s good with soda
Akashi (bit reminiscent of macallan fine oak perhaps)
Chita single grain and togouchi both very good. Chita perhaps most quaffable of the bunch ..
al
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As a japanophile its fantastic, also for anyone who travels a log with work.Quote:
Originally Posted by CardShark
Yamazaki is a fave for the FIL, I would rather have ybisiu premium and some iron hearts
Just had a very quick Google ref Nikka WFTB and it does appear to be part Scottish in content, the single article I've read stating that some of the distalate is from the Nikka owned Ben Nevis distillery. I knew Ben Nevis was owned by Nikka and that it's used in some Japanese whiskies however not that particular one.
If you were to read MoM's write-up it would be easy to presume it's only Japanese content - https://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskie...barrel-whisky/
Those clips are ace
Quote:
Originally Posted by CardShark
As above, my understanding is that NFTB is part-Japanese and part Scottish spirits.
I've been buying From The Barrel for a number of years (anyone remember the ultra-cool origami-style packaging it used to come boxed in?) and interestingly I bought another bottle a couple of weeks ago and my immediate impression was they've changed the blend - I got a distinct sense of peat which it never used to have..
This is absolutely correctQuote:
Originally Posted by CardShark
- - - Updated - - -
A lot of Ben Nevis is now peated... so don't think that means it is more Japanese!Quote:
Originally Posted by gcleminson
Yes and there has been for the best part of a decade, and will take at least another 5 years to move out fromQuote:
Originally Posted by Rocket Man
Avoid the basic Harmony; either get the Master Harmony from the airport (excellent for the £65-ish RRP) or good luck finding the 12,18 or 21 without paying many hundreds of pounds, assuming you can find them at all!Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack83
Currently got Nikka FTB, Hibiki and Chita in my cabinet. Out of those 3, I’d have to say Chita is the one I prefer.
The standard Harmony is about £70 retail, so I imagine the Master's Select would be substantially more even at RRP, given it's trying to be an upgraded Harmony?Quote:
Originally Posted by IanBear
I came here for this. I thank you.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Curta
Hibiki is/was nice but the price has gone stratospheric in recent years and it's now lost its age statement, so I haven't tasted it in a while.
I'm far from an expert on Japanese whiskey, but I really enjoyed that one.Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt8500
World Duty Free website says £67.50 and you can get as much as 12% off with a Dufry app…Quote:
Originally Posted by hughtrimble
So it is! Being a travel exclusive I'm always suspicious why they're there and not also more widely available, other than for marketing purposes.Quote:
Originally Posted by IanBear
I'll try and get a bottle to compare with my standard Harmony.
"Travel exclusive" plus "Master's Select" doesn't read very well to me at all! Both make my teeth itch.Quote:
Originally Posted by hughtrimble
Normally I would completely agree with you, but in this case I genuinely feel it’s the best value actual Japanese whisky out there.Quote:
Originally Posted by CardShark
If you want proper honesty; Japanese whisky due to hype and scarcity is priced way beyond its current quality. Unless you absolutely must have some, stick with Scotch, Irish or American
Yamazaki 12 year is lovely but has gone up in price recently.
I'm 100% with this too - it's very much artificially inflated at the moment.Quote:
Originally Posted by IanBear
I went to a whisky expert recently to buy a bottle for a friend. I'd entirely fallen for the Japanese hype and intended to go for some.Quote:
Originally Posted by IanBear
The guy there said, in quality terms, that Japanese is expensive for what you get. He could sell me something far better from Scotland or Ireland for less money or something stratospherically better (his actual words) for the same money as some of the more expensive Japanese. He did himself out of some cash by selling me some Scotch which my pal, who knows his stuff, absolutely loved.
Annoyingly I can't remember what it was called as Whisky isn't really my thing but it was a win win all round.
Not surprised to see Yamasaki and Nikka mentioned a couple times in this thread. Yamasaki was lovely when I tried it some years back, althought I can't quite recall the tones I got from it. I do remember Nikka was an excellent nightcap and would put me straight in the mood for a long sleep after a dram.
I’ve enjoyed Hibiki in the past (the good old days, had a sub-£100 bottle of Hibiki 17 years ago, was very very good) and still find it good, albeit pricey.
Currently I have a Yamazaki 12, Ichiro’s Malt MWR and Nikka Coffey Grain on the go, and recommend them all. The Coffey Grain strikes me as especially good value and (to me at least) is quite distinctively different. It’s corn based though so if you’re a single malt man it might not work for you.
Edited to add that I know very little about what constitutes “good” whisky. The above is just what I like. :-)
Thanks, this seems like sound advice.Quote:
Originally Posted by IanBear
Are there any scotch, Irish or American whisky bottles you could recommend for under £100 please?
Do you have a favoured cask/style? There are bottles aplenty up to that £.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rocket Man
If the country has an E in its name it’s whiskey. Otherwise it’s whisky.
Canada will be honoured
Correct. They spell it whiskyQuote:
Originally Posted by Saint-Just
Bit of a thread resurrection, but I’ve just finished a bottle of Hakushu Distillers Reserve and remembered about this thread. I found it quite decent, but pricey for what it is (no age statement, and seem quite young).
Tasting notes suggest gentle smoke but I struggled to detect that to be honest… but did get a herby/grassy feel from it.
Back on to The Chita tonight.
Totally agree.Quote:
Originally Posted by IanBear
Not found a single one I’d rate over “Monkey Shoulder” let alone a Scottish Single Malt.
Lagavulin for me but a bottle of Monkey is excellent and inexpensive . I previously considered blends not worth drinking .