Japanese Whiskey production started in 1870 but the Japanese had their first taste of it when Commodore Matthew Perry came to negotiate a treaty with the Emperor in 1854. He gave the Emperor a barrel and gallons of American whiskey as a gift. This might be the start of Japan’s love story with whiskey.
There were small time producers of Japanese whiskey but it was in 1924 when the first distillery opened in the country. A big part of commercial Japanese whiskey success is attributed to Shinjiro Torii and Masataka Taketsuru. They were the pioneers in this industry in Japan.
Torii was a pharmaceutical salesman and founder of Kotobukiya, which later became
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Suntory. He started his alcohol business by importing western liquor into Japan. Later on he produced the brand Akadama Port Wine. This was based on a Portuguese wine and was his ticket to success. He didn’t rest on this success and started on a new venture, which was to make Japanese whiskey. Most executives from his company opposed the idea but he went on and built the first Japanese whiskey distillery in Yamazaki, which is a Kyoto suburb and famous for its water. In the area is also the tearoom of legendary tea master Sen no Rikyu.
Masataka Taketsuru was hired by Torii as an executive of the distillery. Taketsuru studied the art of distilling in Scotland as well as brought back what he learned in Japan. He was a crucial part in establishing the Yamazaki Distillery. Then in 1934, he left the company and formed his own whiskey company, Dainipponkaju. This was later changed to Nikka. He established the Yoichi distillery in Hokkaido.
Japanese whiskey tastes a lot more like Scotch whisky than Irish whiskey. There are several companies that produce whiskey in Japan but the most well-known brands are Nikka and Suntory. Both companies produce both blended and single malt whiskeys.
At present there are ten whiskey distilleries around Japan. Below are the various whiskey distilleries found all over Japan:
Yamazaki – located on the main island of Honshu, which is between Kyoto and Osaka. It is owned by Suntory.
Hakushu – also located in Yamazaki and also owned by Suntory.
Yoichi Distillery – located on the northern island of Hokkaido. It is owned by Nikka.
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Sendai/Miyagikyo – located near the city of Sendai. It is also owned by Nikka.
Fuji-Gotemba – located near Mount Fuji. It is owned by Kirin.
Karuizawa – situated in Nagano Prefecture on the main island of Honshu. It is owned by Mercian, which is part of Kirin.
Hanyu – was closed in 2004. It could be found in Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo.
Chichibu – is a new distillery founded by Ichiro Akuto, who is the grandson of the distiller in Hanyu. It is situated in Saitama Prefecture.
Shinshu – is located in Nagano Prefecture and owned by Hombo.
White Oak – this is located in Hyogo and owned by Eigashima Shuzou.
There were drinkers who said that Scotch whisky which was not produced in Scotland was inferior in quality as compared to those coming from Scotch whisky distilleries. In the past Japanese whiskeys were for local consumption only. But recent tests showed that Japanese whiskeys are at par with the best the world can offer.
Whisky Magazine conducted blind tastings that included Japanese whiskeys in the lineup and results showed that some Japanese single malt samples, especially those of Yamazaki and Yoicihi, scored higher than Scottish brands.
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At first Japanese whiskey producers tried to copy the style of Scotch whisky. Early distillers, like Taketsuru, studied the process of making Scotch whisky by going to Scotland and try to recreate the entire process in Japan.
The Yoichi Distiller in Hokkaido was selected because of its climate and terrain, which in some ways are similar to Scotland. The first ever distillery in Japan is located in Yamazaki, which was chosen because of it was convenient and due to financial constraints.
One of the reasons that give Japanese whiskey its distinct taste is the way it is produced. The industry of distilling whiskey in Japan is different in nature than how it is done in the rest of the world. The demand for single malt whiskeys increased around the world but majority of the whiskeys sold are still blended. The requirements for blended whiskeys vary from one distillery to another. This is why there’s a wide range of blended whiskeys produced by distilleries in Scotland.
Each distillery has its own style and blenders would have a wild range of elements to choose from in order to create the final product. A brand of blended whiskey could be owned by a company that also has one or more distilleries. It is also common practice that companies trade with each other. A blended whiskey could be made from malt whiskey from various distilleries and each one could be owned by a different entity.
In Japan, distilleries follow a different business model. The Japanese whiskey company owns
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both the distilleries and the brands of blended whiskeys. You could say that they are selfish because they are reluctant to trade with their rivals. It means a blended Japanese whiskey contains malt whiskey from the distilleries owned by the company. But some Japanese companies import some of the malts used from Scottish distilleries.
This practice has been said to be one of the reasons why Japanese whiskey blends are not successful in the global market. Blenders in Japan have limited palette to make their products. As a solution to this problem, a Japanese distillery now produces several styles, which include the lighter and floral notes of Speyside; to the heavily sherried; and the peaty and smoky style of Islay.
Now Japanese distilleries are more diverse, which makes them one of the best in the global whiskey market. Japanese also have a distinct way of consuming their whiskey. They drink it with food, with hot water, as mizuwari, which is a popular way of drinking alcoholic drinks in Japan. The latter is mixing one part of whiskey with two parts of cold water and some ice.
