The birth of Japanese whisky is credited to two men: Shinjiro Torii, the founder of Suntory, and Masataka Taketsuru, founder of Nikka Whisky. Torii hired Taketsuru in the early 1920s to build the Yamazaki distillery outside Kyoto, with the goal of making a Scotch style whisky that was designed for the tastes of Japan. After six years, Taketsuru and his Scottish wife Rita moved to the northern island of Hokkaido and built their own distillery. After World War II, whisky sales in Japan exploded, and some companies began importing Scotch in bulk and blending it with Japanese whisky to meet demand. In the 2000s, the reputation for single malt Japanese whisky slowly spread outside the country as they began winning top awards at several competitions. Once whisky writer Jim Murray named a Japanese single malt as the best whisky in the world in 2015, demand exploded and began to outpace supply
Before 2021, it was possible for brands labeled as Japanese whisky to contain some amount of whisky made outside of Japan. However, in 2021, the Japan Spirits & Liqueurs Makers Association adopted a new industry standard that any spirit labeled as Japanese whisky cannot contain imported whisky and must be fully fermented, distilled and aged in Japan.
While Japanese whisky is modeled after Scotch, Torii and Taketsuru were successful in creating unique spirits that were fully informed by the culture and palate of Japan. Many Japanese whiskies are prized for their elegance, balance and internal harmony. And while Japanese single malt carry the most notoriety, there are a number of Japanese whiskies made from mixed mash of rice and malted barley. These whiskies have a unique profile that adds flavors more common in sake (rice wine) or shochu (rice spirit).
A spirit fermented from a mash of 100% malted barley, distilled at one distillery, and aged for a minimum of three years in wooden casks in Japan.
A spirit fermented from a mash of malted barley and other unmalted grains, distilled at one distillery, and aged for a minimum of three years in wooden casks in Japan.
A mixture of grain and malt whiskies that were fermented, distilled and aged in Japan.