The Whiskies of Japan

Japanese whisky’s reputation has come a long way over the arc of 25 years. Once an unglamorous local tipple, today it’s a globally revered spirit—with supply straining to meet demand. Along this path to glory, Japanese whisky has inspired some of the world’s great cocktail bars, created liquid magic with its use of mizunara oak, and achieved mastery in the art of blending. On the global auction market, Japan has produced some of the most coveted collectibles ever released. In short, the allure is undeniable.

Despite centuries-old traditions in sake and shochu, Japan’s history of whisky distilling is not a lengthy one. The country’s two most famous malt whisky distilleries are Yamazaki (owned by Suntory), which opened in 1923, and Yoichi (owned by Nikka), which began distilling in 1936. The seminal figure for whisky in Japan was Masataka Taketsuru, a scion of a sake brewing family who journeyed to Scotland from 1918-20 to study whisky making and work at Scottish distilleries. Three years after his return, he left a job at liquor maker Settsu Shuzo to join Yamazaki, Japan’s first-ever malt whisky distillery. Today, Yamazaki is the cornerstone of Suntory Holdings Ltd., founded by another seminal figure in Japanese whisky, master blender Shinjiro Tori. Taketsuru became Yamazaki’s head distiller, staying for a decade before striking out on his own to found what would become Nikka Whisky and build Yoichi Distillery.

These two foundational distilleries, Yamazaki and Yoichi, are a study in contrast. Yamazaki is located in the midsection of the country, set at the bottom of a lush, tree-filled hillside outside Kyoto, the ancient city of temples and shrines. The setting was chosen precisely because it was so different from anything in Scotland. It’s set by the convergence of three rivers—Katsura, Uji, and Kizu— that provide soft water and create a misty microclimate whose temperature swings throughout the year are considered ideal for aging its whisky. Yoichi, on the other hand, has a site chosen precisely because of its similarity to Scotland, set in the cold climate of Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido, surrounded by mountains and close to the sea. (Its bold, peaty whiskies show a hint of brininess.)

Both Suntory and Nikka today have other important distilleries as well. Suntory owns Hakushu, nestled in a forest near the Southern Japanese Alps two hours west of Tokyo, as well as Chita, a grain distillery by the sea on the Chita Peninsula outside Osaka. Nikka’s most renowned distillery aside from Yoichi is Miyagikyo, set in a foggy glen at the juncture of two rivers—Nikkawa and Hirose—on Japan’s large main island, Honshu. The site was chosen because it has a climate totally different from that of Yoichi.

Complexity and Intricacy

All of these distilleries—and there are many more—highlight the remarkable complexity and intricacy of Japanese whisky, as well as its intertwinement with Japan’s culture. Unlike the western world, which simply marks four seasons a year, Japan observes 24 seasons, or solar terms—a traditional calendar that remains part of Japanese culture today. Within those 24 terms, there are 72 micro seasons, all of them considered important in the maturation and selection of blend components. Suntory’s Hibiki label, for example, is made as a blend encompassing Japan’s 24 seasons, combining malt and grain whiskies from its three Japanese distilleries: Yamazaki, Chita, and Hakushu. And unlike Scotland, where companies trade casks to acquire different whiskies for their blends, major distilleries in Japan are designed to create all types of whiskies in-house. Both Suntory and Nikka work with over 100 different styles, differentiated by various factors such as peating levels, yeast types, fermentation times, still shapes, worm tubs, cask types, and more. Nikka master blender Hiromi Ozaki creates the Nikka From The Barrel expression with over 100 different constituent whiskies.

Even in Japan’s much-acclaimed use of mizunara oak there is mystique and intricacy. While Yamazaki does offer a Mizunara-labeled series, most distillers incorporate mizunara-aged whiskies into a variety of their final expressions, instead of trumpeting it as a single finish the way western distillers do. Suntory chief blender Shinji Fukuyo manages what’s almost certainly the largest inventory of mizunara cask whiskies in the world.

But Japanese whisky is not just about Suntory and Nikka, as other prominent distillers have their own artisanal intricacies. Fuji Gotemba Distillery, led by master blender Jota Tanaka and set in the foothills of Mount Fuji, is known for its expressive grain whiskies, but the distillery produces four styles in total: grain whiskies in the scotch, Canadian, and American bourbon styles, and a Scottish- style malt. Chichibu, founded in 2004 by Ichiro Akuto and distilling since 2008, makes some of Japan’s most sought-after whiskies. Using floor malting and dunnage warehousing while also coopering its own barrels, Chichibu’s single cask malt whiskies are renowned, and its Malt & Grain expression rated 90 points by our tasting panel. The operation expanded in 2019 with a second distillery, Chichibu 2, nearby. Mars Komagatake, Japan’s highest-altitude distillery at 2,625 feet in the Japanese Alps, has roots dating back to its 1949 collaboration with one of Japanese whisky’s earliest pioneers, Kiichiro Iwai, whose name is still on the labels. Eigashima Distillery, formerly known as White Oak, has roots in sake but also makes a well-regarded Japanese single malt.

Adventurous drinkers are also discovering whiskies from distilleries like Mars Tsunuki, sister distillery to Mars Komagatake. It began operating in 2016 on Japan’s southernmost main island of Kyushu, and is known for its single malt and single cask whiskies. Its neighbor on Kyushu is Kanosuke Distillery, a stunningly modern architectural gem that looks out upon the South China Sea. Kanosuke began operating in 2017, producing single malt, and collaborating on a pot still grain whisky made at nearby Hioki Distillery. Also generating excitement is Shizuoka, high up in the mountains about 100 miles south of Tokyo. Shizuoka has the mill and wash still from legendary ghost distillery Karuizawa, and makes expressions with Japanese and imported barley. Akkeshi Distillery, on the northern island of Hokkaido, started production in 2016 and is recognized for its Islay-inspired single malts and blends that embrace Hokkaido’s cold climate, combining traditional Scottish methods with Japanese panache, like its venerable more famous Hokkaido neighbor, Yoichi. With these and other new distilleries, Japanese whisky is rapidly gaining new diversity.

››› Meet the Blenders From Japan's Most Prominent Distillers Here

Scarcity of Supply

The elephant in the room for Japan remains the scarcity of supply, a problem that has plagued Japanese whisky for more than a decade. It’s all due to some miscalculating, not dissimilar to the production drawdowns in Scotland, Ireland, and the U.S. during their lean years of the 1980s. Much like the vodka craze in the U.S., Japan’s white spirit shochu took over the market starting in the 1980s, all but obliterating whisky in Japan. In 1980, sales of Suntory’s flagship domestic brand Suntory Old, reached a zenith of 12 million cases (14.4 million bottles), and then whisky began a 25 year decline. By the mid-1990s, Japanese whisky production had already plunged to 20% of its former levels—in other words, an 80% drop. “When things were really bad in the 1990s, we weren’t producing at all,” recalls Nikka’s chief blender Hiromi Ozaki.

Then came the global whisky renaissance in the mid-to-early aughts, and Japan, like the rest of the whisky world, has been scrambling to boost supply ever since. But it’s a slow process: A window of 10 to 15 years is required to make their best whiskies, even if some excellent expressions are a bit younger. Also consider that there are still many domestic Japanese whisky brands selling well over a million cases annually, enjoyed by office workers in the izakayas (pubs) of Tokyo and other cities. The popularity of those mainstream brands has returned, and even though some were eliminated amid the shortage, their supply needs are crucial to these companies’ bottom lines. This need for younger whiskies has also made it difficult to lay down sufficient stocks for aging.

Suntory has said that it will take at least another year or two to bring things back into balance, but supply is on the rise, helped by the fact that the company has raised prices sharply to dampen demand. Nikka also is probably a few years away from catching up. “Since whisky started to grow, we began to increase capacity at our existing facilities to produce as much as we could,” says Ozaki. Production capacity at Yoichi is now two and a half times higher than it was in 2019, with the distillery running two shifts a day instead of one. And recently the company pledged an additional $38.5 million toward boosting production capacity. In a hopeful sign, Nikka rolled out Yoichi 10 year old, its first age-stated whisky since 2015, though its availability was very limited. Still, there does seem to be light at the end of the tunnel, and once the supply problem is resolved, there will be plenty of Japanese whisky for everyone to enjoy.

Japan’s Major Whisky Distilleries

1. Akkeshi
OWNER: Kenten Jitsugyo Co. Ltd.
An Islay-inspired distillery making lightly smoked whisky using locally grown raw materials.
STYLE: Single malt and blends with imported whisky
VISITOR FACILITIES: Nearby restaurant Akkeshi Gourmet Park is authorized to give tours, but only of the rackhouse and general campus, not the distillery.

2. Chichibu 1 & 2

OWNER: Venture Whisky Ltd.
STYLE: Single malt
Led by Ichiro Akuto, progenitor of a new wave of Japanese distilleries. Chichibu offers mostly special releases, both peated and non-peated.
VISITOR FACILITIES: Yes, by reservation

3. Chita

OWNER: Suntory
STYLE: Single grain
Located on the shores of the Chita Peninsula near Nagoya, Chita is dedicated to making grain whisky.
VISITOR FACILITIES: No

4. Eigashima

OWNER: Eigashima Shuzo Co. Ltd.
STYLE: Single malt
Formerly known as White Oak, it makes unpeated and limited peated releases using imported malt.
VISITOR FACILITIES: Yes

5. Fuji Gotemba

OWNER: Kirin Brewing Co. Ltd.
STYLES: Single malt, single grain, and blends
This distillery makes malt and grain whiskies with a wide range of flavors but is most noted for its grain whiskies.
VISITOR FACILITIES: Yes

6. Hakushu

OWNER: Suntory
STYLES: Single malt and single grain
Located in the Japanese Alps, makes lightly peated and unpeated whiskies.
VISITOR FACILITIES: Yes, by reservation only

7. Kanosuke

OWNER: Komasa Jyozo Co. Ltd.
STYLE: Single malt
A modern architectural gem set on the shores of the South China Sea.
VISITOR FACILITIES: Yes

8. Mars Komagatake

OWNER: Hombo Shuzo Co. Ltd.
STYLES: Single malt
Japan’s highest-altitude distillery, located in the Japanese Alps, is also among the oldest in the country, with roots going back to Kiichiro Iwai, an early Japanese whisky pioneer and mentor to Nikka founder Masataka Taketsuru.
VISITOR FACILITIES: Yes

9. Mars Tsunuki

OWNER: Hombo Shuzo Co. Ltd.
STYLE: Single malt
Sister distillery to Mars Komagatake, its first whisky was released in 2020. It produces both unpeated and heavily peated expressions.
VISITOR FACILITIES: Yes, by reservation

10. Miyagikyo

OWNER: Nikka Whisky
STYLES: Single malt and single grain
This distillery makes malt and grain whisky with flavors ranging from elegant to peaty. Its grain expressions are among the most highly regarded in the world.
VISITOR FACILITIES: Yes

11. Shizuoka

OWNER: Gaiaflow Co. Ltd.
STYLES: Single malt
Located high in the mountains and in the shadow of Mount Fuji, its whiskies include expressions made from 100% Japanese barley.
VISITOR FACILITIES: Yes, by reservation

12. Yamazaki

OWNER: Suntory
STYLE: Single malt
Japan’s first whisky distillery, opened in 1923, produces typically unpeated whiskies but does offer some peated expressions. It makes some of Japan’s most famous and highly collectible labels,
VISITOR FACILITIES: Yes

13. Yoichi

OWNER: Nikka Whisky
STYLE: Single malt
Japan’s second foundational whisky distillery after Yamazaki, its remote location and typically peated whiskies, were inspired by founder Masataka Taketsuru’s years in Scotland.
VISITOR FACILITIES: Yes

Koji and Awamori Whisky Makers

These specialist producers are predominantly located in southern Japan from Kyushu Island to Okinawa.

A. Fukano
B. Hakata
C. Ohishi
D. Ikinokura
E. Kumesen
F. Masahiro
G. Shinozaki

Japan and Foreign Whisky Sourcing

Japan has a long tradition of importing bulk whiskies for blending. It’s perfectly legal to bring in whisky, age it, blend it, and sell it labeled as a “Product of Japan,” even though it wasn’t distilled there. This loophole, coupled with the fact that some of those brands do their best not to talk about the issue, has created some confusion in the marketplace. To bring greater clarity, in 2021 the trade group Japanese Spirits & Liqueurs Makers Association established new labeling standards for whisky. But these are voluntary guidelines, and don’t go far enough. For one thing, they ratify that phrase “Product of Japan,” for products with imported whisky. If you’re seeking out a purely Japanese whisky, you need to study the label carefully—and look for the words “Japanese Whisky.” That means the product has complied with the stricter Japanese labeling standards on provenance, as shown in the box here. Bear in mind, however, that some foreign-component whiskies are excellent: Ichiro’s Malt & Grain, for example, scored 90 points with our panel, and Nikka From the Barrel, at 94 points, was our 2018 Whisky of the Year. Both producers are upfront about their provenance.

LABELING STANDARDS FOR JAPANESE WHISKY

The guidelines set by the Japan Spirits and Liqueurs Makers Association state that anything labeled “Japanese whisky” or “Japanese whiskey” must meet these standards, which closely resemble those for scotch whisky:

• Raw ingredients are limited to malted grains and other cereal grains, and water from Japan. Malted grains must always be a part of the grain bill.
• Saccharification (converting starches to sugars, as in mashing), fermentation, and distillation, to a maximum of 95% alcohol by volume (ABV), must take place in Japan.
• The spirit must be matured for at least three years in Japan in wooden casks with a maximum size of 700 liters.
• It must be bottled in Japan at 40% ABV or above.
• Caramel coloring is permitted.

›››Check Out This List of Japanese Whiskies to Try