It has been said that it was the Yamazaki 12 Year Old that propelled Japanese whisky to international fame after it picked up a Gold award at the International Spirits Challenge 2003, and I’m not about to argue with that. Without further ado, here are our Top 10 Best-Selling Japanese Whiskies of 2019. The whiskies that we will talk about today are without a doubt some of the best to ever come out of Japan, and ones that every whisky-lover should have in their cabinet, but it’s worth remembering that they are not the only ones out there and there is a whole world of new and intriguing expressions from different distilleries around the country. Of course, Yamazaki etc produce enormous quantities, so there’s much more to go around. This simply comes down to the scale of production at these facilities and the resultant number of bottles that they can actually sell. One thing that is worth noting with this countdown is that while it gives a good indication of the most popular whiskies currently on the market, it doesn’t contain any ji-whisky or expressions from Japan’s growing distilleries, like Chichibu, Akashi White Oak and Akkeshi. Some of these expressions have been around for years on end, while some are relatively new entries that have whipped up a storm, been recognised for their quality and as such, have been purchased by the barrel load (wink wink, nudge nudge) by whisky-lovers around the world.
Today however, we’re taking a different angle and delving into your top Best Japanese Whisky 2019 ie. We’ve already talked about our 10 favourite releases of Best Japanese Whisky 2019 to date, including some fantastic expressions from Chichibu, Akkeshi, Yamazaki and more and you can read all about them by following this link.
His first love remains whiskey, but he is partial to tequila, rum, gin, cognac, and all things distilled.This week, we’ve been taking a look back at the year so far. His work has appeared in many different national outlets covering trends, new releases, and the stories and innovators behind the spirits. Jonah Flicker is an experienced writer who has been covering spirits and traveling the world visiting distilleries to taste and discover for many years. Of course, try these whiskies on their own too to truly get familiar with their character. Depending on the bottle, you can also use Japanese whisky in classic whisky cocktails like the Old Fashioned or Manhattan. In fact, the Highball is a simple drink that is very popular in Japan, a combination of whisky, soda water, and a slice of lemon or citrus peel. You can definitely use Japanese whisky in cocktails. Overall, the style of Japanese whisky runs the gamut, from peated to sherry cask-influenced, to light and floral. As it stands now, some bottles include whisky imported from other countries into the blend, but these are starting to be labeled as world whiskies.
Recently, regulations have been put into place which should become law over the next few years to properly define Japanese whisky. How is it different from other types of whisky? Blending is very important in Japanese whisky, as many distilleries make different types of whisky which are married together by the master blender before bottling. Single malts and blends are the main styles made, using pot and column stills and aged in a variety of barrel types including ex-bourbon barrels, sherry casks, and Japanese Mizunara oak. Japanese whisky is most similar to scotch whisky in terms of its production methods. If you can snag a bottle, you won’t be disappointed. It’s aged in a combination of cask types, resulting in a fruity, spicy, and oaky single malt whisky that is best sipped on its own. Yamazaki 12 ( view at Drizly) isn’t exactly a cheap bottle of Japanese whisky, but it’s arguably the best.
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