First ecounter with the Japanese whiskies

@MosaSaurus, Its a boring and safe choice but Suntory's Yamazaki 12 and 18YR are great to begin your journey. Also, their blended, HIbiki 12, 17YR is good too. Then Hanyu, Nikka, and Yoichi are great as well.

Check out this site for all things Japanese Whiskys... nonjatta.blogspot.com

Kanpai!!!

@whiskyshiba Thanx Whiskyshiba, I knew you´d share your insights... Seems like an interesting site, will check it out tomorrow night, now it´s time to put away the Blackberry and enjoy an evening of Andre Rieu here in Maastricht... please the misses...

Do accept my humblest of bows, from a Ronin tot an Emperor... hehe

I will second Whiskyshiba's suggestion. They were at a tasting I'd attended, so I was able to try both back-to-back. The 18, which had received very high praises, seemed somewhat dry to me (though I'd sampled... numerous... others before making my way to their table), so I instead purchased the sweeter, my speyside-ish 12. It's a very tasty whisky that has been a fixture in the front of my cabinet, and would be a great (and affordable) trial.

@MosaSaurus do check out Chris Bunting's Beginner's guide to Japanese Whisky in the last issue of Connosr Distilled connosr.com/distilled/issue-4/…

@MosaSaurus-san, No worries mate! LOL...no bows necessary here. We're all equals here on this site :) Also, the Yamazaki 12 tastes of toasted marshmallows...yummy!!!

@whiskyshiba Just stayin´ in the theme Whiskyshiba hehe... Though I do respect your knowledge on the liquor that binds us... I'm only 36 years old, though already a nice 18 years devoted to the drams, and even though I'm unconventional in many ways, I respect my elders, and from various of your posts here on Connosr, I can tell you're a kind person.

By the way, nice doggie on the avatar, that´s an Akita, right? Is it yours? I (my girlfriend, to be more precise) has a Cocker Spaniel, less impressive, though she'd make a GREAT avatar on a High Tea & Scones Forum hahahahaaaa...

Slainte !

PS : toasted marshmallows.... aaarrgghh... I HAVE to taste that ;-p

Agree with everyone of you. 1) yamazaki 18 2) nikka yoichi; 3) yamazaki 12 or hibiki 12

@MosaSaurus, I gotcha :) Thank you for your kind thoughts. I am by no means an expert on whiskys, but have been enjoying drinking them for over 36 yrs.. lol. I just keep an open mind and love to try new whiskys.

@Victor and @dbk on the other hand are experts (even though they'd never admit to it) on everything whisk(e)y. I base a lot of my purchases on their thoughts and reviews.

My avatar is a pic of my dog. He's a shiba-inu, the national dog of Japan. He loves sherried whiskys and hates Islays. Of course I don't feed him whisky, but he always follows me around when I have a dram in hand...maybe he likes the snacks that accompany my drams ;)

Chin-chin my friend!!

Don't forget the Miyagikyou (Nikka owned) and hakushu (Yamazaki owned). Both fantastic whiskys, I would highly recomend the 12 year old from both.

@whiskyshiba Should have known it wasn´t an Akita... Hence your nick of course... And your reply sort of inspired a new discussion I just launched here...

Has anyone tried the Nikka Taketsuru 12, I was planning to ask my wife pick it up from Seoul airport where it was selling for $33 for a 660ml bottle.

So what is the "most Japanese" whisky that a newbie to the region can start with to get acquainted with the unique style?

The old comments on this thread talk about "safe and boring" choices, stuff that's "Speyside-ish," and generally bottles that sound perfectly tasty but not especially Japanese. If I'm going to stray from my usual Islays and Campbeltowns for the exotic (to me) world of Japanese malts, I want something that screams JAPAN!!! I don't just want a quality malt that HAPPENS to come from Japan.

A while back, John Hansel's blog (whiskyadvocateblog.com/2013/01/…) described the Yamazaki Mizunara wood as smelling of temples. (Yes, temples!) I think that's what I want! That bottle is hard to find and pretty expensive, though. What's an affordable substitute that's readily available in the US?

As a comparison, if someone asked me for a bottle that screams "SCOTLAND!!!" I would suggest something like Laphroaig Cask Strength.

Thanks all. Ol' Jas

@OlJas Affordable and available in the US limit your options. But that's OK, as there are 2 that come to mind right away as being distinct. Hibiki 12YO is a blend that is priced at around 60.00. Some of the casks used once held plum wine, so there is that tasting note that is quite uniqe. On the single malt side of things, check out the Yoichi 15 whick clocks in anywhere from 90 - 115. It has a striking spicy note that reminds me a bit of pickled ginger. I find this note where you might find mint or menthol in Scotch. Yamazaki 12 and 18 are good, but are very Speysiderish. And the 18 has priced itself out of my range in the course of a year - up to 180.00 in TN!

@OlJas, unfortunately due to your location you may find it quite difficult to find a whisky which you could classify as 'most Japanese'. Although I have to admit, I'm not entirely sure what you mean by that. Many of the suggestions given so far have been very good, the Yamazaki 12, or 18, the Hibikis 12, 17 or 21, Yoichi, Miyagikyou etc. All absolutely wonderful and very 'Japanese' in my opinion. The advice given by @Onibubba was also very good I think. Again though, because you are located in the U.S. you may really only have access to the bottles listed here. There are of course far more Japanese whiskies out there but many of these are very difficult to find outside the Japanese market.

The Yamazaki Mizunara is certainly an option but yes, a VERY expensive one. In my opinion you could find something just as satisfying for half the price. If you are able to order online and have bottles shipped to your state you may want to try looking into the

Kirin Fuji Sanroku Single Malt 18 yo, Shinshu Mars Komagatake Single Malt 22 yo, Ichiro's Malt Black Label, or the Nikka Taketsuru 21 yo.

All varying in price and style but all very good Japanese whiskies. Hope this helps ; )

I am not from the US but this topic is very interesting for me too. So what can you recommend, when we assume global shipment?

What do you think of the Karuizawa Asama? Is this one also typically Speysid'ish?

@Wills, my experience of the Karuizawa 11 yo Asama was not particularly great. I always hate 'reviewing' a whisky based on what I've sampled at a whisky bar, personally I don't think it's the best sample to use when judging a whisky. Having said that, for me I got some dry sherry, very light vegetal-like notes and a hint of what I would describe as dry leaves.

It wasn't bad and at 8000¥ a bottle certainly a reasonable price for a Karuizawa. But overall I wouldn't rush out to buy a bottle. I think you'd be buying the name more than the whisky.

I would check out nonjatta.blogspot.co.at for a very good overview of japanese whisky. I personally would recommend the following (usually generally available) japanese whiskies: 1. Yamazaki 12 for a lighter style 2. Yamazaki 18 for a more complex sherry style (a bit pricy though) 3. Hibiki 12 for a very japanese rich and special blend (plums...) 4. Nikka from the barrel for an excellent sherried blend (higher strength - good value) 5. Yoichi 12 for more peated style (or Hakushu 12 if Yoichi is not available) 6. Asama 1999/2000 46% - great sipper and good value

Absolutely right @maltster! Nonjatta is a fantastic blog : ) One of my favorites.

my first was the affordable and very approachable Suntory blended whisky, Hibiki 12 year old. it's a perfect place to start, and the decanter like bottle with glass stopper is a real keeper!

Yamazaki 18 is right there with HP 30, Ardbeg Ugi and Supernova, Lagavulin DE, and Thomas H. Handy Rye. I'm in no way an expert, but I have sampled close to 100 whisky's and these are my top. And I don't find it much different than scottish whisky. It's sherried and would even rate it higher than HP18, or Farclas 25.

Oh, yeah and I bought it a month ago for $99. It was a find at a pretty cool liquor store here in Florida.

Well I guess I am going to buy this sweet sweet Hibiki bottle. Read of the distinct plum-profile several times, I need to get this one :)

Thx for your suggestions.

@Maltmark Agree. Yamazaki 18 is definately in the "players" catagory. If it can be had for under 130.00 US, it is worth picking up.