Here it is. One of the first whiskies from the notorious Matsui Shuzo that is–allegedly–actual Japanese whisky! I wrote a whole lot of words about Matsui Shuzo’s phantom Kurayoshi Distillery last year. To briefly summarize: they have historically been pretty deceptive and confrontational, and tend […]

  Nose: honey and light sherry notes. Palate: light wood that becomes more strong with time, peat? Sharp, numbing. Not fruity. Not very enjoyable. Finish: short, spicy, sour. The “sharpness” of the flavors was like warm knives touching my tongue, a little numb, it’s ok. […]

Wapirits Tumugi claims to be Japan’s first spirit for cocktails. “The UK has gin, Russia has vodka, Cuba has rum, Mexico has tequila. And Nippon has Wapirits,” reads the potentially incendiary marketing copy. “But Whiskey Richard, you cover Japanese gin all the time,” you respond. […]

This is a commemorative bottling for the 5th anniversary of Shinanoya, a famous food and liquor shop/distributor in Japan. This is the sister label to Karuizawa 16 year cask 5006. The labels depict screen door painting “Lion and Tiger” by 18th century Japanese painter Soga […]

From the, in my opinion, strange looking The School of Malt, Dave Broom labels. Dave Broom is the author of “Whisky: A User’s Guide” and also writes/reviews for a variety of outlets, such as Whisky Advocate [he also wrote The Way of Whisky: A Journey […]

Kawasaki is considered the sister distillery to Karuizawa and produced grain whiskies with a supposedly 90% corn mashbill. Unfortunately, times were rough and the distillery closed because the new owners (Kirin) weren’t interested in whisky (but now they produce both malt and grain whiskies at […]

Karuizawa is considered the top Japanese whisky brand, well because it tastes good. The typical “lost distillery” story: bad times came upon the distillery, distillery gets acquired by a company that isn’t interested in whisky production, another party comes in and buys all the old […]

  This controversial and somewhat mysterious whisky is supposedly Chichibu distillate, purchased by Akkeshi, who shipped it to Scotland to be matured in a 1969 ex-Glenrothes cask (cask 1 of 2). Rumors are abound that cask 2 is another old Glenrothes cask or ancient Bowmore. […]

Hibiki Blender’s Choice was probably the most controversial Japanese whisky of 2018. For many, it’s yet another manifestation of the sad reality of Japanese whisky these days. To explain the background a bit for those who may have missed the trend, Japan’s biggest whisky producers–including […]

A very special 2017 bottling for the infamous Mash Tun Bar in Tokyo, a blend of approximately 70% Hanyu 1991 and approximately 30% Kawasaki 1982. Wonder what the cask number is for. Supposedly many of the Mash Tun bottles have a cat on the label […]