10 Things Every Guy Should Know About Japanese Whisky

"Suntory’s Yamazaki distillery was built in 1923, the first whisky distillery in Japan. The distillery is located just near Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan, on the western part of the island. We have been exporting whisky to America since the ’60s, but are still relatively new to this country. American people have, for a long time, not perceived Japanese whisky as acceptable. But that is changing."

"We don’t know really why Shinjiro Torii thought to open a whisky distillery. According to lore, he imported lots of alcohol to Japan in order to make plum liqueur. That made him rich. Now, at that time, alcohol was not made properly in Japan; it was imported in wood. The alcohol would often sit in the wood for so long that it would pick up the color and flavors of the wood. Torii was fascinated by this. So, that led him to make whisky by himself. 80-some years ago, nobody in Japan knew about whisky. When he made this decision, the entire board of directors was opposed. They thought he was crazy. But they indulged him, and Suntory is still here as a result."

"Our philosophy about whisky making remains unchanged. The founder of Suntory, Shinjiro Torii, wanted to create a whisky that would appeal to the delicate Japanese palate. A blend most be well-balanced, like a circle. If you have three whiskies, you create a triangle—three harsh flavors that you experience distinctly. But if you have 35, 40 whiskies, you make a round flavor. It becomes round, like a circle. The concept: none of the flavors should stick up more than any other. Drinking our whisky, you may not pick up one flavor in particular; you will taste balance"

"In order to make good whisky, you need good water. Yamazaki is a small place, renowned for its water. There was a small but famous tea house built there 500 years ago because of the water. Yamazaki is awash in soft water, but on the soft water range, it has many minerals, especially compared to the other distillery, Hakushu."

"After 50 years at Yamazaki, Suntory expanded. The Hakushu distillery was built in 1973. It is a distillery among the mountains, among the forest, at the foot of the Japanese Southern Alps. It is like Aspen, in America. The water is even purer than the Yamazaki water because of the melting snow from the tops of the mountains. The water filters through granite for a highly purified water, which gives the whisky a crisp, refreshing taste with a shorter finish. The environment at Hakushu is very green—lots of trees and flowers."

"The environment of the Hakushu distillery is absorbed into the cask, giving you the bright taste and hint of green apple. We also use a peaty malt, to give it a hint of smoke. Imagine drinking this by a campfire, in the outdoors. We just launched this a couple months ago in America, though it has been available in Japan for much longer. Though it isn’t branded as such, it is a single malt as well, since it only comes from the Hakushu distillery. We chose not to put 'single malt' on the bottle because we feel the taste is different from how consumers generally imagine a single malt. We didn’t want them to arrive with pre-conceived notions."

"This is our single malt, launched in 1984. This has several different whiskies in it; [as with scotch] single malt means that the whisky must come from one distillery, not that it must be a single kind of whisky. Typically, a single malt scotch will only have one or two types in a single malt. We use many types to create complexity. We strive for a subtle, refined, complex flavor. This is the most popular single malt in Japan, and the most popular single malt Japanese whisky in the world as well. The youngest whisky in here is a 12 year."

"Although the same kind of whiskies used here are found in the 12 year, the proportions are very different. This is similar to a sherry whisky, that is, a whisky aged in sherry casks. Thus, it’s darker and sweeter. It has received the highest award at the San Francisco Wine and Spirits Competition five years in a row."

"Hibiki is a blend of whiskies from Yamazaki and Hakushu, and also grain whiskies. Thirty-some whiskies go into this expression, which has been available for a year or so. Hibiki is finished in plum liqueur seasoned casks. As a result, you may taste a bit of tartness, a little acidity."