In the odd chance that I ever get a whiskey bar up and running it helps to see how others are doing it. While I still feel that Japan still does the particular type of bar I enjoy best, Seoul is getting close. The Bing soo is there because I love bing soo. Notable mentions include the following: Vault 82, B28 Seoul, and The Factory
Yamazaki is a small town just outside of Osaka that was the birthplace of Japanese whisky. The distillery was founded in 1923 and named after the town that still is prized for its pure spring waters and diverse climate. If you've never tried Yamazaki and you enjoy whisky you have to give it a try. There's not a lot better than the 18yr old in it's price range. When I first discovered this whisky several years ago it was $90. It now sells for over $150. And it's still worth it.
Thank you for your hard work sir
One of the giant copper stills. Unlike a lot of distilleries, Yamazaki uses different shaped stills in the various steps of the distillation process to yield a greater variety of characteristics in their alcohol.
The warehouse smelled strongly of oak and alcohol
I wish I had this collection (minus the bookends)
There are over a thousand bottles of various maturations of whisky on display here
You can also sample various whiskies at a very reasonable price
Yamazaki 25
Smoke, molasses, floral nose. Almost a coffee, or roasted barley aftertaste that is long and lingering. I think I may prefer the 18yr. Especially since this bottle costs around $1300
Hibiki 21
Toffee, caramel, melted butter, alcohol. Definitely needs time to open up. Syrupy and silky. Delicious. Better than the 17yr and the 12, but barely. At around $250 a bottle maybe I'll grab one someday
These two whiskies were part of the 5 I believe that are used to blend into the Hibiki 17yr. This is the only place you can sample all the blends of the Hibiki line. On the side is "Mother water" which is the water they use to make the whisky. I'm not going to lie, it was actually really tasty as well. They should bottle this and sell it too.
Mizunara (Japanese Oak only found in Hokkaido 52% alc)
Needs water, sweet toffee, amazingly floral. Haunting, and unique aftertaste, almost like roasted corn, the smell of young wood burning. I wish I could buy this in a bottle
White Oak (54% alc)
Dried fruits, grape, lots of alcohol. Grain/wheat finish with some bite. After adding water, I could taste some vanilla and oak as well.
Night cap? If I must
Start if off right with the Yoichi 20yr. Here are some comments from the internet:
Nose: big notes of cedar wood up front. Cigar boxes. Tobacco leaves. Old leather. Nice to see there’s also an estery note (nail polish) but this fades away quickly. Dark forest fruits remain. After that, some earthy smoke, burnt cake and a little tar. Hints of dried mushrooms and soft spices. Incense as well. Light matchstick notes from the sherry. Excellent complexity and typically Japanese.
Mouth: punchy (bordering on pungent). Again quite savoury and leathery. Walnuts and roasted pecans. Deep, earthy peat smoke. Pepper, liquorice, anise, a pinch of salt. In the background a strong bitter-sweet harmony of burnt fruit cake and dark chocolate. Slightly sourish tobacco leaves.
Finish: very long, smoky and chocolaty with traces of dry oak.
Here are my notes:
Tasty. Pricey.
I tried the Miyagikyo and that was fantastic as well. I wish I had written down my thoughts about it. Oh well, next time.
In case it's not obvious, I am at the Ritz-Carlton bar in Osaka. It's a spectacular bar. Not because of it's location or selection, but because of the people that work there. Everything is done perfectly. And ok, they have an outstanding collection of exclusive and rare alcohol.
White Bowmore, is one of the three unicorn scotches that I would like to someday try. Black, and Gold being the other two. They sell this here for just slightly over $500 a dram, or the bottle can be yours for north of $16,000. Needless to say, I didn't try it. The bartender did, and he said it was amazing.
I asked him what was his other favourite whisky that regular people could afford and he produced this. I've never been a fan of the Hakashu 12 when the Yamazaki 12 and Hibiki 12 are so much better, but I gave it a shot anyways. I wasn't disappointed. Sharp fruit and alcohol on the nose, with a little bit of smoke. The taste starts off silky and then you really taste the oak. What keeps bringing me back to this is the taste of the wood. It's so unique that similar to a really peaty Islay, I can't get enough of it.
This is how they do a serious mojito
Another exclusive bottling for the Ritz. It was a pretty typical Clynelish: smooth, light, some dry fruit and then leathery and oak. Still delicious.
Farewell....I'll be back
(I did go back)
Google is great. Especially when you're traveling. It's not just maps, it's your security blanket, gently warmed in the dryer. So when it tells you that a restaurant is on a particular street you go there and walk blindly back and forth on that street desperately looking for the restaurant. There is no questioning the mighty Google. Except I suppose in Asia.
Long story short, we finally find the place by making a phone call in a department store to our friend Karen. If we had to, we probably wouldn't be able to find it again, not only was it off the street, it was up a back alley staircase.
Snapped this when we thought we knew where we were going.
Dinner time. Love open kitchens and the rare-hard-to-find Northern vegetarian Chinese food.
Introduced to Japanese whiskey as a nightcap at a swanky bar. It's good stuff. Notice the ice. These bartenders don't mess around.
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