JAPANESE WHISKY
In 1924, Shinjiro Torii established Japan’s first malt whisky distillery, Yamazaki, near Kyoto.
Yamazaki’s first distillery manager, Masataka Taketsuru, had similar ambitions to Shinjiro Torii. He had trained as a chemist and was initially employed by Shuzo, a company intending to produce Japanese whisky. This company of Japanese whisky sent him to Glasgow University in 1919 to study whisky production.
Returning to Japan in 1920, he waited for the Japanese whisky project to materialize. The company was declared bankrupt and Taketsuru lost his job.
Then, he joined Yamazaki, which in 1929 produced Japan’s first malt whisky, now called Suntury White.
Taketsuru then decided to set up on his own. In 1934 established Hokkaido Distillery on Yoichi. Taketsuru and Torii continued to shape the Japanese whisky industry. In 1937 Torii launched the first blend, Suntury Whisky Kakubin, in a distinctive square bottle and aged for 12 years.
In 1952, Taketsuru’s company became known as Nikka Whisky, and in 1969 he founded another distillery, Miyagikyo, in Sendai.
Shinjiro Torii’s son, Keizo Saji, was continuing his father’s vision, opening Chita, a grain whisky distillery, in 1972, and a second whisky distillery, Hakushu, in 1973.
The growing stature of Japanese whisky was confirmed in 2005 when Yamazaki released a 50-year-old malt aged in Japanese oak casks.
All whisky lovers can speak at least a little Japanese. This may be restricted to Yamazaki, Hakushu, Karuizawa, Nikka, Yoichi and the names of other malt whiskies.
Malt Japanese whisky is a focus of the Japanese industry, with blends also composed using whiskies distilled from barley, maize (corn) and rye. These grains are not cultivated in sufficient quantities for large-scale production in Japan, which means malt Japanese whisky is distilled using unpeated and peated malted barley mainly from the UK, maize from the USA and Canada, and rye from Canada.
Cask selection includes a local asset, with Suntory the first to use mizunara (Japanese oak). This provides distinctive aromas of sandalwood and incense, as well as coconut and vanilla flavours, with ageing up to 20–25 years giving the greatest benefit.
Casks made of Japanese cedar are a recent innovation. Also known as Yoshino-sugi, Japanese cedar is traditionally used to build temples, and also to age a specific style of sake (rice wine) known as Taruzake. Kamiki uses Japanese cedar casks to apply a finish to a blend of Japanese and world whiskies initially aged in Bourbon barrels, with cedar casks adding a scent of sandalwood and a green-tea note in the finish.
Aromas of sandalwood and incense are a distinctive feature of Japanese whisky aged in mizunara casks, technically Quercus mongolica, a variety of oak indigenous to Japan.
Suntory has used mizunara casks since 1940 with various toasting and charring levels to promote different maturation influences in Japanese whiskies. These casks are used principally to age the richer style of new-make spirit distilled at Yamazaki. In the first 10–15 years, mizunara contributes coconut sweetness, accompanied by subtler vanilla. After 12–15 years, spices such as cinnamon develop, together with incense aromas.
Source: The Whisky Dictionary: an A-Z of Whisky, from history & heritage to-distilling & drinking
