The lure of whisky has drawn me to the furthest regions of the globe and the Land of the Rising Sun wasn’t definitely going to be left behind. The rich, creamy, fruity yet spicy notes are something that has taken Japanese whisky to the top of the world market and I decide to discover the secret behind them. The art of Japanese whisky making draws its inspiration from Scotland in the early 20th century when Shinjiro Tori decided to make a whisky for the Japanese people. Tori was a pharmaceutical wholesaler who made his fortune selling imported spirits, later going on to establish Suntory as one of the major makers of Japanese whisky. He hired Masataku Taketsuru to run his first distillery at Yamazaki. Taketsuru, on the other hand, had learned the tradecraft of whisky production in Scotland. I have digested all this information by the time my flight touches down in Tokyo.
Discovering the best bars for Japanese Whisky
I decide to head out to explore Tokyo’s best places to find the elusive whisky before heading out to the distilleries. I land up in Ginza, one of the sparkling jewels in Tokyo’s shopping itinerary and decide to take part in a whisky tasting tour. We start off the tasting trip at Whisky Bar B.A.C where I am seated next to Haruto, an oncosurgery resident at the National Cancer Centre Hospital in Tokyo. “Although I have been living in Tokyo for more than three years now, I never discovered the wonderful stories about whisky in Tokyo,” he tells me as we try out the much famed Yamazaki 18 yr old together. The walk takes us through another three bars where we try out some of the famed labels behind Japan’s meteoric rise in the whisky world. It is not only the flavours or the Japanese hospitality that interests me but the mysticism of the story behind them.
The Yamazaki Distillery
First on my itinerary is the oldest distillery in Japan: the Yamazaki distillery. As I head to my destination near Kyoto, the landscape on the train from Tokyo firstly speeds up before blurring into a green deluge on the window. After another train ride from Kyoto, I land up at the distillery that started the story of whisky in Japan. There are quite a few things that separate Japanese whisky from others all over the world. Here, the distilleries and the blended whiskies are all owned by a single company. Suntory, for example, owns distilleries at Yamazaki and also a separate warehouse for storing the liquid for maturation. Unlike many of their competitors in the western world, the companies tend to mix and match different flavours to create a multitude of different blends.
The Yamazaki distillery has one of the largest whisky productions in the country with six different pot stills. The distillery also showcases the history of Japanese whisky on a wall with different blends and flavours being captured in bottles. I inhale the air, thick with the sweet, spicy flavour and marvel at the scores of the golden liquid filled bottles adorning the walls. A glass barrel shows us how the whiskey evolves through its maturation, changing colours and imbibing flavours. We head into the warehouse where thousands of different barrels store whisky of different ages, the showcase being the first barrel that was ever used in production. The rich flavours of the Japanese tipple specially Yamazaki can be attributed to the usage of these different types of barrels; there are some American Bourbon ones, some English sherry ones and even some French ones. The last stop on our journey of the distillery is the ornately decorated tasting room where you not only get the opportunity to taste some of the rare Japanese whiskies, but also get a chance to buy a bottle that you wouldn’t find anywhere else.
How to get there? 10 mins walk from the Yamazaki Station on the JR Tokadio line from Tokyo/Osaka
Which whisky to buy? Yamazaki 18yr, Toki, Chita Grain Whisky
Cost: The Story of Yamazaki 2000 Yen (INR 1200)
Hakushu Distillery
The parent company of Yamazaki, Suntory also has a second distillery about 2 hours west of Tokyo at Hakushu. The distillery is set among dense forests at an altitude of 700 metres, making it one of the rare distilleries to be situated so high above the sea level at an altitude. The forest imparts a herbaceous, smoky flavour to the whisky that is produced here, especially the Hibiki. After a trip through the distillery, you can taste their famous tipple right in the forested backyard.
How to get there? 20 mins Shuttle bus from the Kobuchizawa Station
Which whisky to buy? Hibiki 17 yr, Hakushu 12yr
Yoichi Japanese Whisky Distillery
Our next stoppage on the distillery tour is the Yoichi distillery owned by Nikka. The offbeat location is due to the fact that making of this whisky required very specific conditions. So when Masataka Taketsuru broke away from Suntory and decided to open his own company, he chose upon this small town due to the abundance of soft water and easy availability of coal and wood from nearby locations; conditions very similar to that in Scotland. The journey to Japan’s northernmost island is stark yet beautiful. Snowflakes dust over the treetops while the dark blue shades of the Pacific Ocean flash past the window of my train. A five-minute walk from the Yoichi station lands me at the imposing castle of the distillery. Stark, almost Winterfell-like, the castle has Taketsuru’s amazing journey hidden in its walls.
Although the works of the distillery are pretty similar to the ones in Scotland and Japan, it’s the tasting room which sets the Yoichi apart. Adorned in mahogany and plush leather, the aroma of fruits and incense hang deep in the air. This is the only place where you can buy the elusive cask single malts ranging from INR 6000-10,000 and I decide to snag a 10-year-old for me. I decided to take my dram to the balcony where a majestic view awaits me. Sitting on the open balcony and tasting whiskies while looking over snow-covered peaks and trees, this is one memory I’ll definitely remember for a long time.
How to get there? Otaru Station on the JR Hakodate line
Which whisky to buy? Nikka Single Malt Yoichi, Nikka from the Barrel, Nikka Taketsu Pure Malt Whisky
Miyagikyo Disitllery
Nikka’s second distillery Miyagikyo acts as a perfect match to Yoichi’s whiskies for producing the company’s blended batches. The water from the Nikkagawa river combines beautifully with the Coffey pot stills that are used here to produce a mild flavoured whisky very similar to that found in the Scottish lowlands. As I walk towards the red-brick buildings, I feel a similar sense of excitement that has enveloped me over the past few days. The smoky smell of the malted barley combined with the heady sweetness of the fermenting alcohol is something that I have come to love over the past few days. I am heading to final distillery on my trip to discover one of the Nikka’s most treasured products, the Miyagiko Single Malt. It is part of a new generation of whiskies where age has been given a backseat. The whisky tastes of a warm apple pie combined with some citrusy overtones and are something that you wouldn’t easily back home in India.
How to get there? Sakunami Station on the JR Senzan line
Which whisky to buy? Nikka Miyagiko Single Malt
I had gone to Japan to discover the secrets behind their elusive whisky but I came back with a head full of whisky making history, some Japanese hospitality and few bottles of the golden tipple.
