Japanese whisky
A Japanese man learned the craft in Scotland and brought it home. A hundred years later, Japanese whisky is sought after worldwide and consequently scarce. What it is, what types there are, how to drink it and which glass goes with it.
The best-known Japanese whisky brands
Two houses that shape the image: the founder's distillery and the blend that put Japanese whisky on the global map.
Nikka
Masataka Taketsuru's house, with Yoichi on the coast of Hokkaido and Miyagikyo among the mountains near Sendai. From the powerful From The Barrel to the fruity Coffey Grain.
About Nikka →Hibiki
Suntory's blend in the 24-faceted bottle, made from dozens of malt and grain whiskies and partly matured in mizunara. Honey, orange peel and Japanese oak.
About Hibiki →Our whisky page presents all styles side by side, from Scottish malt to American bourbon.
Every Japanese whisky in a row, by brand
2 brands and 5 flavors, each with its own page about flavor, cocktails and the right glass.
The Scottish method, in Japanese hands
Japanese whisky is not an invention of its own but an adoption. Masataka Taketsuru left for Scotland in 1918, learned the craft at distilleries there and returned with a notebook full of notes; in 1923 he helped build Yamazaki, Japan's first whisky distillery, and in 1934 founded his own company, Nikka. The method has remained Scottish ever since: malted barley, double distillation in copper stills and maturation in oak casks. What makes it different lies in the execution, not the recipe.
The biggest difference from Scotland is organizational. Scottish distilleries trade whisky with one another for their blends; Japanese distilleries rarely do, so each distillery has to create all the flavors itself. That explains why one company may have distilleries with contrasting characters, using different still shapes, yeast strains and casks. There is also a distinctive signature: the Coffey still that Nikka still uses for its grain whisky, and mizunara, the Japanese oak that imparts a touch of sandalwood and incense.
In brief
Four categories, from blended whisky to single malt
In Japan, blended whisky is the norm and single malt is the exception. The difference lies in the grain, the number of distilleries and the shape of the still.
Blended whisky
A blend of malt and grain whisky, often from dozens of different casks from the same distillery. Soft and balanced; in Japan, blending is the craft that matters most.
Single malt
One hundred percent malted barley from a single distillery, distilled in copper pot stills. More expressive than a blend, and the easiest to recognize by distillery.
Grain whisky
Distilled in a column still rather than a pot still. Nikka still uses a nineteenth-century Coffey still for this, producing a sweet, creamy and fruity whisky.
Pure malt
Malt whisky only, but from more than one distillery, so not a single malt. In Japan it is called pure malt; elsewhere the label says blended malt.
Bottles with an age statement have become scarce: demand grew faster than the casks could mature, and distilleries dropped releases with a number on the label.
Fruit, honey and a subtle woody note
Fruit & honey
Ripe and tropical fruit, floral honey and vanilla, often with a light touch of sandalwood from mizunara casks. Rarely heavy; Japanese whisky tends to open delicately rather than boldly.
Soft and precise
Round and silky, with honey, cocoa and dried fruit. A single malt from a coastal distillery adds a light smokiness and a salty note.
Long and clean
A long but clean finish with oak, a slight bitterness and sometimes incense. Precision matters more here than intensity.
Average flavor profile of a Japanese blend. A single malt from Yoichi scores higher on smokiness and intensity; at 51.4% ABV, Nikka From The Barrel scores 5 for intensity, while a Coffey Grain scores higher on sweetness and fruitiness.
Three ways to drink Japanese whisky
In Japan, whisky is primarily something to enjoy with food, and that is reflected in the ways it is served: diluted, ice-cold and light. Of course, it can also be enjoyed neat.
As a Japanese highball
40 ml whisky in a long drink glass filled with ice, topped up with 120 ml ice-cold sparkling water. Stir once from bottom to top so the bubbles stay in place, and garnish with a strip of lemon peel. The most common way to drink whisky in Japan.
Highball recipe →Neat with a drop of water
4 cl in a tulip-shaped tasting glass with a few drops of water added. With a bottle above 50% ABV, this makes the biggest difference: the alcohol softens and the fruit and honey emerge. Smell first, then drink.
Glass: tasting glass →As mizuwari
One part whisky to two or three parts cold water, over plenty of ice in a tumbler, then stir gently. Diluted this way, the flavor holds up surprisingly well and the whisky goes down easily with a meal.
Glass: tumbler →Cocktails with Japanese whisky
A good Japanese whisky quickly disappears in a robust cocktail. These four bring out the fruit and honey instead.
Japanese Highball
Whisky with ice-cold sparkling water in a tall glass filled with ice. The standard in Japan.
Old Fashioned
Whisky, sugar, bitters and a large ice cube. More elegant with Japanese whisky than with bourbon.
Whisky Sour
Whisky, lemon, sugar and egg white. The honey note makes the sour more rounded.
Manhattan
Whisky, sweet vermouth and bitters. Softer and fruitier with a Japanese malt.The right glass for Japanese whisky
A tulip-shaped glass gathers the aromas when tasting whisky neat, a tall glass is essential for a highball, and a tumbler is ideal for mizuwari. These are the glasses we recommend ourselves.
Everything you still wanted to know about Japanese whisky
Can't find your question here? View our cocktail recipes or get in touch.
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