Greatest Japanese whisky to purchase at a look
Greatest well-known Japanese whisky: Nikka Days whisky, £38.99Best gentle Japanese whisky: The Chita Suntory whisky, £72Best intense Japanese whisky: Taketsuru pure malt, Nikka whisky, £56.99Best luxurious Japanese whisky: Hakushu 12-year-old single malt, Suntory whisky, £160Best Japanese whisky for Scotch lovers: Mars Maltage ‘Cosmo’ whisky, £61.50Best Japanese whisky for whisky inexperienced persons: From The Barrel, Nikka whisky, £44.99Best blended Japanese whisky: Hibiki Japanese Concord, Suntory whisky, £74.95Best traditional Japanese-style whisky: Yoichi single malt, Nikka whisky, £69.80Best for pairing with meals: Miyagikyo single malt, Nikka whisky, £65.50
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Greatest Japanese whisky to purchase 2025
Nikka Days whisky
Greatest well-known Japanese whiskyABV: 40percentRating: 4/5
Nikka dominates the Japanese whisky market. This easy-drinking blended whisky from their in depth vary is gentle in aroma and flavour, making it a very good choice for newcomers to the whisky world, or for lovers of cocktails who, with this, can serve a highball with a punch.
Learn our full Nikka Days evaluate.
The Chita, Suntory whisky
Greatest gentle Japanese whiskyABV: 43percentRating: 4/5
Together with Nikka, Suntory is among the most-loved and well-known Japanese whisky manufacturers. Working from quite a few distilleries, this whisky flies the flag for its Chita operation. This grain whisky is lighter and extra delicate than different Japanese whiskies in our listing. It is a fruity spirit with unripe banana flavours current in its skinny, intense sweetness.
Learn our full evaluate of The Chita by Suntory
Taketsuru pure malt, Nikka whisky
Greatest intense Japanese whiskyABV: 43percentRating: 4/5
Not like the Nikka Days whisky, this doesn’t map throughout fairly so merely to the extra acquainted Scottish whiskies that Japanese whiskies are sometimes related to. It tastes intense at first sip, with tobaco and smokiness current, and finishes to disclose a savoury, virtually bitter notice. This one is nice in an quaint cocktail.
Learn our full evaluate of Taketsuru whisky by Nikka
Out there from:Amazon (£56.99)Grasp of Malt (£69.31)
Hakushu 12-year-old single malt, Suntory whisky
Greatest luxurious Japanese whiskyABV: 45percentRating: 5/5
Made at Suntory’s Hakushu distillery, this maturation is refined with cool natural notes. On the palate, that coolness offers strategy to a easy alcohol heat, mint notes and a few lemon that mingles with the sweetness of the malt. It is full-bodied with slightly creaminess, too, making this a really perfect whisky to serve neat in a dram.
Learn our full evaluate of Hakushu 12 whisky by Suntory.
Mars Maltage ‘Cosmo’ whisky
Greatest Japanese whisky for Scotch loversABV: 43percentRating: 4/5
Mars Shinsu is a heritage distillery that is had a sophisticated journey, closing a number of occasions alongside the best way, though it is loved a resurgence lately. Identified for very fascinating particular editions, this ‘Cosmo’ distillation has butterscotch on the nostril and stewed fruit flavours. Count on a profile similar to a standard scotch.
Learn our full Mars Maltage evaluate
From The Barrel, Nikka whisky
Greatest Japanese whisky for whisky beginnersABV: 51.4percentRating: 4.5/5
A flagship blended whisky from Nikka that you’ll have seen in bars and supermarkets. From The Barrel does what you think about Nikka would love for a standard-bearer of their whiskies, exhibiting most of the flavour parts in an approachable method, with out sacrificing complexity.
Learn our full evaluate of From The Barrel whisky by Nikka.
Hibiki Japanese Concord, Suntory whisky
Greatest blended Japanese whiskyABV: 43percentRating: 4.5/5
A blended whisky from Suntory, this pulls in malt whisky from their Yamazaki and Hakushu distilleries, and grain whisky from Chita. It has a fancy however gentle nostril, with crimson fruit and apple flavours and a marshmallow candy notice. Get pleasure from with an ice dice as a sundowner.
Learn our full evaluate of Hibiki Japanese Concord whisky by Suntory.
Yoichi single malt, Nikka whisky
Greatest traditional Japanese-style whiskyABV: 45percentRating: 5/5
You’ll be able to virtually style the Scottish affect on this dram, however Nikka’s Yoichi has a distinctly Japanese flavour profile. On the nostril there’s mild peat smoke and caramelised citrus fruits, and the palate carries the peat and fruit via, with melon and recent apple being probably the most notable flavours. General, that is considered one of Japan’s prime whiskies. It is an ideal introduction to the area’s providing because it exemplifies its finest qualities.
Learn our full evaluate of Yoichi whisky by Nikka.
Out there from:Amazon (£69.80)
Miyagikyo single malt, Nikka whisky
Greatest for pairing with foodABV: 45percentRating: 5/5
The no-age Miyagikyo is a superb showcase for the Nikka distillery. The nostril is intense with out being heavy, with oodles of cereal, hints of candyfloss, banana and crisp apple. The palate reveals a continuation, with delicate grass and floral notes earlier than a full barley-malt sweetness. A dram of this is able to pair effectively with fruitcake.
Learn our full evaluate of Miyagikyo whisky by Nikka.
Out there from:Amazon (£65.50)
What’s totally different about Japanese whisky?
To generalise, Japanese whisky tends towards precision and complexity with out getting too heavy. Finishes, even when intense, don’t linger on the palate in the identical method as an Islay would possibly. Fairly a couple of of the whiskies listed right here shift via a couple of totally different units of flavours as you sip them, with savoury notes you don’t see elsewhere. Nearer to scotch than bourbon or rye, they run the gamut from the super-light to intense brooders. Flavour profiles will embody hints of bitterness, too, which might be placing when first tasted, however sit neatly throughout the blenders’ intent.
Japanese whisky: a fast historical past
The origins of this spirit could be traced again 100 years. The Japanese have hyperlinks with Scotland going again to the mid-Nineteenth century, with college students despatched throughout as a way to study scientific and engineering improvements because the nation sought to modernise itself. This observe was nonetheless going robust when, in 1918, a younger chemist named Masataka Taketsuru was placed on a ship to Glasgow to learn to make whisky.
Returning two years later, he would develop into probably the one most vital determine in Japanese whisky. The corporate that had sponsored his journey, Settsu Shuzo, had drawn again from making a correct whisky distillery, so Taketsuru as an alternative spent his time making an ersatz substitute for them. Shifting on in 1924, he joined Kotobukiya (now Suntory) making Japan’s earliest recognisable single malt on the nation’s oldest whisky distillery, Yamazaki, in Osaka.
Then, in 1934, he based his personal firm, now often known as Nikka, and arrange the Yoichi distillery on the northern island of Hokkaido. The equal may be if Glenfiddich’s unique grasp blender had gone on to discovered Glenlivet after a false begin with Budweiser. Between the 2 behemoths of Suntory and Nikka, you may have a majority of the whisky made in Japan and in the stores within the UK.
With far better consideration being paid to Japanese whisky, followers are caught in a little bit of a bind. On the one hand, a swift rise in demand for a drink that may take upward of a decade to mature correctly has put stress on inventory ranges, with commensurate value rises and whiskies of a specific classic eliminated in favour of ‘No Age Assertion’ (NAS) releases.
Whisky collectors and merchants are admittedly a distinct segment, and one most likely finest not sucked into, however if you happen to occurred to select up a Japanese single malt a decade in the past, you may be relatively stunned on the distinction in value. However, the vary of Japanese whisky that yow will discover within the UK is broader and extra simply accessible.
Flagship manufacturers just like the Nikka’s From The Barrel could be seen in supermarkets, alongside scotch, bourbon and the endless panoply of gins. While there will not be presently equal funds choices, there are very first rate whiskies that don’t price the earth.
One factor to concentrate on is that Japan doesn’t have the identical laws surrounding strategies and necessities for calling a drink a whisky and calling a whisky Japanese. As such, there are a number of blended whiskies utilizing Scottish base spirit that will or could not have been aged in Japan, and it’s apparently doable to see aged shōchū being bought as whisky within the USA. Fortunately, the latter would not appear to have made its method over right here.
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This evaluate was final up to date in January 2025. When you’ve got any questions, solutions for future evaluations or spot something that has modified in value or availability please get in contact at [email protected].
