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In 1992 I was on deployment in Misawa Japan. On night we went out on the town and bar hopped telling every bartender we had never tried Japanese Whiskey. We got tons of free shots and sang a bunch of Karaoke. Now I keep a bottle in my cabinet always. Awesome video guys Thanks.
Nikka has some great offerings. Nikka from the Barrel is another one of these collaborations like the Hibiki Harmony. It's a higher ABV at 51.4% which is very appealing to American whiskey drinkers. Nikka is famous for using Coffey stills and no, this has nothing to do with coffee. It was a type of still invented by Aeneas Coffey in 1830. Masataka Taketsuru went to Scotland in 1918 to study chemistry at the University of Glasgow. He fell in love with Scotch whisky, married a Scottish woman, and apprenticed at Hazelburn which is owned by Springbank. He then moved back to Japan worked at Suntory and founded Nikka in 1934. To this day Nikka still uses Coffey stills and Scotch techniques to distill their whisky.
Love that y'all finally did a Japanese whisky video! I've never tried any and I feel like this at least gives me some ideas on what to try! Thanks SLB for always helping guide me through my whiskey journey!
Very enjoyable video. Thank you guys for doing this and going outside of the proverbial "bourbon" box. I'm an avid bourbon fan but also half Japanese but have never jumped into the Japanese Whisky world mainly because I knew so little about it. Perked my interest alot and now will definitely have to try some things out to see if I can spend more of my money! Ha. Love what you guys do!
In Ireland peat is used to heat some houses. When I used to go back to my aunts, one of the jobs I was required to do was stack the peat. It helped in the drying process. I then cut into bricks that she could use in the hearth. She had enough to make it through the winter. And Trenton will appreciate this for 3 days after inhaling the peat all i did was blow black out of my nose.
In MN you can buy peat "logs" in some stores around Christmas time for homes with fireplaces if you want a little holiday smokey fire. It's always fun to smell it on the air in winter... probably a lot less fun when every house was burning it all day.
Glad to see you guys talking about Japanese whiskeys! I love Asian whiskeys, but only ever really get them as a special treat to myself. Would love to see you review some Nikka whiskeys. Miyagikyo especially holds a special place in my heart from my first trip to Japan, but the Coffey Malt is also quite good imo.
Long time waiting for this video and you both delivered! Thank you so much. Its nice to see different bottles and get your take on the difference notes. Keep it up.
We were fortunate enough to live and work in Tokyo for three years and really enjoyed trying to learn the language (not so successfully) and exploring and experiencing their food and drinks. While I never acquired a taste for saki, the whisky had some great but subtle flavors. Like most food and drink there, the tastes are much more subtle than American pallets are used to tasting. True for desserts too. My favorites are also the Toki and Hibiki, and agree the Yamazaki is too expensive these days. Although it has a following similar to bourbon hunters' pursuit of Buffalo Trace products. Thanks very much for the video and bringing back fun memories of our life in Japan. If you do decide to do a Japanese trip, count me in! It's about a 13 hour flight from Chicago/ MSP/DTW airports.
Love the Hibiki Harmony because it is well balanced. Also love the Nikka Whiskey from the Barrel! I didn't enjoy the Toki straight but may need to find a small sample to test it in cocktails.
Nice! So glad you did this one. I have only tried a couple of the single malts, which I'm looking forward to exploring. For a lightly peated beauty, the Yoichi is fantastic. They've just become so expensive. In Japan and Korea, highballs are hugely popular, so the cheaper blends can work there, but I'm not a fan of the Toki. The Harmony bottle is the most attractive in whisky. When mine is empty it's going to be repurposed as a decanter or an infinity bottle.
Thank you guys appreciate the review of these whiskies. I just bought the Hibiki. Can’t wait to try it out tonight. I am expanding my palate of whiskeys, always look forward to your videos to point forward to the ones you guys like. Cheers, can’t wait for next video
Kurt, I feel like based on your palate you would really enjoy the Ohishi 8 year Sherry Cask finish. Should run you right around $90. Highly recommended. There is a younger one which isn't as good and a 15 year which I have yet to try. They start with a blend of malted and unmalted rice whiskey and offer a variety of finished including Islay casks, brandy casks and others. Everyone I've tried has been good but the sherry is my favorite.
YES!! Thank you SLB for this episode. Really great you guys are mixing it up. I hope you do another Japanese whisky episode in the near future. A couple of my favorites are Nikka from the Barrel and Nikka Coffey Malt. Cheers and two thumbs up. 👍👍
Thank you for all your videos, the information and descriptions are always great!!! and amazing recommendations. A while back you guys mention a Port Barrel Bourbon....the question is what would be a good port cask bourbon?...thank you
Loved experimenting with different whisky with my dad especially around Christmas time. Would buy him a bottle I knew he would like and then slip in a curve ball whisky. Tried him with a Japanese whisky one year, I think it was an Hibiki, and he was like what the hell is this. I’ve had a few that he was not keen on but every Japanese Whisky I bought he loved and he’s had a few including Yamazaki, Nikka and Yoichi as well as the Hibiki. This coming Christmas will be the first without him and this video bought the memories flooding back. Thanks guy’s 👍
I remember when the Hakushu 12 was relatively unknown and everyone had it in abundance for $70 a bottle. There was a point where having a bottle was a staple at my place and I've given it as a gift a few times, but now it's harder to find and more expensive than I want to pay for it.
Currently living with in Japan, also a fan of the Hibiki line. I was fortunate enough to take a tour and do a tasting at the Suntory Yamazaki distillery last year. I was able to sample Hibiki 21 and 30 year as well as Yamazaki 18 and 25. The Hibiki 30 was one of the best whiskeys I’ve ever tried, the Yamazaki 18 was a close second! If you ever make it to Japan, I highly recommend you try to get a tour there, but it is not easy as there is way more demand than they can handle.
I picked up a Yamazaki 18 several years ago. It was incredible and unusual (sharp strawberry note, followed by a sharp blueberry note, and then a broad honey finish) and didn’t last long (I brought it to parties at friends’ homes). I got a second one last year and found it to be a bit different, but still excellent. We recently had the Yamazaki 18 and Macallan 18 one evening: significantly different nose and palate profiles, but both were delicious.
Also went to visit Japan a few years ago and somehow miraculously lucked into a open tour spot for 4 people 2 days before arriving for our last week at Kyoto. Did a tasting of every super high end whiskey (the same you mentioned) and I know nothing about whiskey other than I really enjoy drinking Japanese whiskey thanks to my old boss introducing me to it. Yamazaki 25 is the greatest alcoholic drink I've ever had. I'm not a fan of anything lower than an 18. Although I know nothing about fancy alcohol, I know the 12 doesn't taste good to me. At the cost of $28 USD a glass for the 25 in the distillery bar vs $500 a glass at a random high end restaurant in SF, the mere $10 USD for the ticket for the tour made the entire trip worth it.
Suntory Toki was my first Japanese whisky and I love it, but as many others have noted, I recommend Nikka as well (as you mentioned with the Coffey Malt which is pure banana cream pie). The Nikka Yoichi is very quintessentially scotch-like, and the Nikka From the Barrel is also delicious and complex, especially because it crosses the 100 proof threshold. Yes, the From the Barrel is blended with non-Japanese whisky but what's good is good. I think Nikka is a great distillery to explore (check out their history as well), and they also make a fantastic yuzu-forward gin. That being said Japanese whisky is just a little bit overhyped and so expensive for what you get so I rarely ever buy them, and they are often a hit or miss because of some of the unique and subtle flavors.
Excellent video! I almost exclusively drink Japanese Whisky (probably why this video was recommended for me). I've had all of these they talked about today, except for the Yamazaki 12. Toki is great for the price. My favorite in this group is the Hakushu 12, followed closely by the Hibiki.
I really think the key word for Japanese whiskey is “balance”. It always impresses me with the skill used in the blend. I go to these as much as the Scotch in my collection. Great video!!!
Great review of the Japanese whiskeys!!! I am not a huge fan of the the Japanese liquors I have had so far and this was a very helpful bit of information.
A friend of mine gifted my a bottle of Nikka Coffey Grain Whisky for my birthday, and it's definitely one of the best bottles in my collection! Going to further explore the Japanese Whisky market
Early in my whiskey collecting I bought a Yamazaki 12 for $125. I bought it because I had a sample and I really liked it. Unfortunately the bottle I bought was rather different from the sample bottle. It was still very good but I learned an important lesson about small batch whiskey. I probably won't buy another bottle but I'm glad I had the experience.
I've been waiting a long time for this video! My favorite sipping memory was at a dive bar in Tokyo with a (cheap!) pour of Yamazaki 12 and the Allman Brothers spinning on the record player. Really great bottle. I've more recently been enjoying Shibui, which I believe is newer to the market. I also saw another person comment about Kavalan from Taiwan - really great stuff!
My nephew gave me a bottle of Nikka Pure Malt Whisky for Christmas several years ago. It was 80 proof and reminded me very much of a single malt scotch. I really enjoyed it.
Thank you for all your videos! I purchased a bottle of The Yamazaki 12 a couple months ago...essentially by accident. I'm part of a group message when items are released at a local grocery store, and I asked for a bottle without knowing the MSRP. (All liquor is msrp at this grocery store!) I had COVID and wasn't able to go pick it up, so my cousin went and got it for me. I was beyond shocked when he called me on the way back, informing me I had just purchased a $190 bottle of Japanese whiskey. Ouch!!! I haven't opened the bottle yet...
When I was living in the Philippines in 2016 Yamazaki was cheap and as a Scotch drinker I love them, Hakushu, and Nikka. The hibiki was always a little light for my palate. The Yamazaki 18 year and Hibiki 30 might be two of my fav whiskies of all time. For context, Lagavulin is my go-to.
I like the video guys!!! I do like some Japanese whiskey and some I don't. I feel like I can appreciate lots of different styles and profiles. My palate is pretty open. Great video yall 🥃
I absolutely enjoy cocktails, wine, a good neat sip of a warm spirit. I have recently feel I want to go deeper in the bourbon world. And I have been watching your show. It is so so so good, you guys have such a good energy and chemistry. Congratulations on such a successful channel. I LOVE all the recommendations you both make and your wife talking here and there behind the camera ❤ Thank you SLB Drinks 🥃 🥂 🎉
We have the Yamazaki 12 here in Ohio on the shelf but the price is $179 and the Harmony can be found without too much trouble but the price is $124.95. I always keep a bottle of Toki on the shelf, it's a good overall value.
It is hard to get into whiskey in Ohio, the prices are outrageous because the State controls everything... not that I needed to tell you, just giving context to non-Ohio residents. I am lucky enough to live near Kentucky where I can usually save 30-50% off the Ohio price for a lot of bottles.
That Hibiki mix you make is reminiscent of the now-discontinued Hibiki 12, which was aged in barrels used for plum wine. It's legitimately great and my only regret is that I've been slowly drinking the same bottle since around 2014 (special occasions) and it has definitely weakened to oxidation. I'll have to try your mix!
St. George distillery (Alameda, CA) makes an American single malt finished in Japanese plum wine barrels. It's called "The Baller" and goes for around $50 in my area. Unique nose and flavor; starts out sweet then veers off into peat/smoke. Might be something you'd like.
I love and have had all ages of both Hibiki and Yamazaki, My boss loved the Yamazaki but I find it a little ruff. I had the pleasure of a few glasses of the Hibiki 30YO and I wish I hadn't as now I compare all other wiskeys to it. I love how the japanese blend and how the ages are a defined step in taste and quality. You cannot go wrong with any Suntory product on your wiskey journey.
I too want to thank you for doing a Japanese whisky review. And I too want to encourage a Nikka review. I have quite a few different kinds. They make the best Japanese whiskies that I've tried. And have great value for the money. I do like the Toki very much. It's a great bargain level drink.
I just stumbled upon your channel. Good stuff. I like the straightforward, honest opinions. Honestly, I don't think I've ever tasted a Japanese whisky. You convinced me to check out Toki and Hibiki Harmony. I also appreciate your respect of the language and for trying to pronounce the names correctly. Good job! Aloha from Hawaii.
Big fan of yall trying things not in the normal wheelhouse! Big fan of Japanese and other asian whiskey. For Japan I also enjoy the Nikka distillery, particularly the Miyagikyo and from the barrel offerings. Also I enjoy Kavalan from Taiwan. Their high end bottles have some really interesting flavor differentiations.
Kavalan is one of my favorites. I’ve been fortunate enough to have people pick me up the Solara ex bourbon cask from Tokyo duty free. Absolutely in my top 3 whiskeys of all time. Regular Kavalan is pretty good too.
I remember being 22 years old at a bar in Palms, LA circa' 2016. The bartender introduced me to buffalo trace and Nikka Coffey Grain that day. Changed me forever.
Waiting for the day when there would be an exclusive SLB episode for Indian single malts 😊 Amrut, Paul John, Indri, Kamet, Godawan, Rampur, Gianchand are some of the brands I would love to hear your thoughts on. 😊
Amazing video. Thank you for your honest opinion. I being followed both since few yrs ago, recommended the love to friends. I high recommend to dry Peruvian black whiskey for my understanding the only whiskey made with purple corn. Cheers
The two that you recommended the most are both available in my market. A little pricier here in Canada, but I may have to try the Toki here and then decide about the Hibiki once I decide, based on the Toki, if I like where this is going. It is a significant jump here the Hibiki at $150 CDN. Thanks for this one. Cheers!
I used to buy Yamazaki 18 all the time, but at the time it was right around $100. Spectacular! My local Japanese grocery store in California had a dozen on the shelf at any given time. I bought the Yamazaki 12 once. They are two entirely different tastes. Then the world found out about the 18 and it got scarce and ridiculously expensive, so I've already bought my last bottle.
When I go to my local I always look at the Japanese whiskey but since I don't know anything about them I pass and head for the bourbon shelves. After watching this episode I think I will pick up a bottle of the Toki for a start. Thanks for doing this. Cheers
Great job with the pronunciation of Hakushu! Standard Japanese (Tokyo area) “devoices” certain vowels in some cases so the first “u” is not stressed and becomes virtually silent. In Western Japan you’re more likely to hear each vowel pronounced.
I really like that you guys aren't trying to pretend like this is what you like. I really like that you honestly give your opinions, which at this point we all know are great insights. Thanks for doing this. Pls do some reviews on Aussie whiskey. Lark and Starward are two. I would love to see your opinions on.
I know exactly what Trenton is saying about the acidic note as if you had just gotten sick. I find it in many scotches I try and it’s the main thing that detours me from them. I just can’t get over it when it’s up front and center
Toki is really nice. Is fantastic in a lemon Japanese whiskey Smash. I'm also not big on Iwai by itself, but it works really well in a smoked Japanese old-fashioned. Haven't had any of the others yet........
Nice video. All the Suntory are great. See I you can get their CHITA. Similar to the Toki. Some recommendations to find and add to your collection. AKASHI Single Malt Whisky, Ichiro's Malt and Grain World Blended Whisky, Nikka Single Malt Yoichi and Nikka Whisky from The Barrel. (This one changes every year because it's a blend of what they can get. A fantastic Whisky worth having back ups).
Hibiki is my favorite whisky just in general. The Yamazaki 12 is great too, but for me Hibiki is fantastic. Toki is one of my top picks under $50 a bottle
I was at the Yamazaki distillery in Osaka, Japan. They offer tasting drams on order. You can only get a flight of 3 at a time. So, I went straight to the Yamazaki 25, Hakushu 25, and Macallan 25. The result was that Hakushu 25, for me, was the best. It was simply sublime. Then the Macallan 25 came in 2nd. The Yamazaki 25 came in last, I'm afraid. Having said that, these whiskies were some of the best I've tried. The 12-year-old Japanese whiskies just don't have the oomph to trump plenty of other whiskies out there, but their top-shelf stuff? Pretty amazing, I can tell you that.
Love Japanese whiskey’s. Hibiki is one of my all time favorites. I can’t find these locally (I live in NC and the ABC stores don’t seem to carry Japanese whiskeys). I would like to try a few more in the Suntory lineup. Great video. I am finding that my personal preference in whiskey’s are the lower proof variety and less sweet.
Suntory AO is a great Japanese whisky that strikes a good balance of peat and malt…something like Toki meets Japanese Harmony meets Balvanie Doublewood. It is a blend of whisky from 5 different countries. Outstanding value at around $63.
Thank you for the review... In my experience, the cost of the Yama12 and Hak12 are driven by supply and demand, the juice is not worth the $170+ price tag that you see nowadays. My first Yamazaki 12 that I purchased in 2018 was around $70... by the end of 2019, it was around $100 (that was the last one that I purchased)... in three years is almost double the price. For $180, there are so many options, especially in Scotches.
When I was venturing out of bourbon I picked up three things, Redbreast 12, Laphroaig 10, and Suntory Toki. I've since bought more Redbreast, more Scotch, but not more Japanese. Don't get me wrong I like the Toki, but I live in a state allocated liquor state, and the Hibiki is set at 125 + tax. I'll eventually give in, but I just have a hard time justifying to pay that price when I can get so much other stuff for that.
My experience with Japanese whiskey is quite dated. I had some in Tokyo in 2012, don't even remember the band. I recall it being very light, mild tasting. My whiskey journey didn't really start until 2016. I may go back and give it a shot.
cant have a japanese whiskey line up without nikka, taketsuru pure malt is probably their best expression, the NAS one is amazing and available. If im not mistaken it was the previously black label NAS puremalt and the age stated ones that were discontinued. The new light label one is still fairly available. Their Miyagikyo disttilery specific bottle is also amazing. There is a great bar in the haneda airport where you can get a solid poor of all of these and much more for only a few hundred yen, that was a nice flight back.
I've stopped at that bar and had a dram of Ichciro World Malt. Outstanding. Also enjoyed Nikka Session, another World Blend, while in Japan last summer.
Iwai is made in a bourbon style. Good value. I do like the Hibiki Harmony - $70 at my Costco once a year. Too bad the discontinues the Hibiki 12. Try the Nikka line of single malts or the AO Suntory World Whisky..
Was in Japan mid-October and tasted through a pile of 'Japanese' whiskies... Found a few that I really liked, and brought a few hard to find examples home.
I drink mostly Scotch but I do enjoy Japanese whiskies. I love the 12 year old offerings Hakushu and Yamazaki but they have gotten too expensive. Recently I have fallen in love with the Yoichi Single Malt ($79 Illinois) and the Miyagikyo Single Malt ($79) offerings from Nikka. Amazingly delicious even without age statements. Thank you for a nice review!
Would love to have you all come to London! Buffalo trace are opening a store with tasting experiences in Covent Garden by the end of the year, so a meet up would be very fitting!
I would love to see you review LEGENT it's a beam finished in red wine and sherry casks.They are finished separately and blended by a Japanese master blender its 40ish msrp.
I just finished a bottle of the Hibiki, and I fell in love. Now I'm looking for more good Japanese whiskeys, and I'm finding it really hard to to find something even better than the Hibiki. It's just so damn good.
I feel some of the Suntory Single Malts are some of the best ..and I do say this being a big Speyside fan... especially Fettercairn, Glendronach and Balvenie.
I got my hands on the Yamazaki 12, and damn it is good. Both people that didn't like whiskey, and people who loved it all had a great time drinking it. It was a big spend, but it lasted me almost 2 years so well worth it looking back lol!
I’ve had a few Japanese whiskeys and they were good similar to scotch. I’m not a peat guy and I get it overpowering the taste. I won’t be spending anything over 60-70 for a bottle of these. Great show and pointing out the various differences in taste compared to scotch. Enjoy!!
Well, good luck on that price point. Hibiki is 75-80, Yamazaki and Hakushu are 120-160. Toki isn’t worth buying unless you like highballs. IMHO the Iwai and where you wanna be if you want to stay in that price point.
@@zerodynamic that’s fine I just won’t get that brand. I’ve had some good Japanese whiskey but not my go to by any stretch. I’ll take a good scotch over any Japanese whiskey period and still be under 200 dollars. Way under.
Great video! Just out of curiosity, what is the other one of the two other Japanese whiskies you have? The one with the "Blue Label" that you said you didn't like.
Surprised you didn’t bring out the Nikka Taketsuru… I would have been interested to see the comparison’s to Suntory. My dad drank bourbon and my first bottle purchased was his favorite bottle which he would always purchase during the holidays. I live in Tokyo now and have started to get into to whisky… but I have only tasted Japanese whisky. I’m becoming pretty knowledgeable and while I travel throughout Tokyo during the week, I have a good idea where to buy certain bottles. For example I ran into a bottle of Yamazaki limited that was selling for around ¥30000 yen at one store… the exact same bottle was selling for ¥60000 at another store that usually has better prices than most stores… and three months earlier the same bottle could be found for around ¥25000 if it isn’t sold out in select stores. I would recommend Ichiro’s classical edition or any of their leaf bottles except for the white. I would also try Kanosuke… a distillery in the south of Japan. Nagahama is also an interesting distillery outside of Kyoto. I know some of these you may or may not be able to purchase in the states but I feel as though there is a whisky renaissance going on here in Japan at the moment. Lots of new distilleries are popping up and some of these are distilleries have made sake for many years and are using some Japanese techniques for whisky making and creating very interesting products. Let me know if you have any questions about Japanese whisky. Iwai… pronounced “EE Why” … Gambatte!
