Secrets of World’s Famous Whisky: Japanese Water and Spanish Casks

Yamazaki, Japan – Located near the ancient Japanese capital of Kyoto, the Yamazaki whisky distillery, the world’s top whisky, had a long way from the northerly glens of Scotch’s spiritual home.

Report said that despite its unlikely birthplace, Yamazaki’s Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013 trumped more than 1,000 challengers to be named the world’s best whisky by prominent critic Jim Murray in his Whisky Bible 2015.

The company says the first Japanese whisky to claim the crown owes its success to adroit exploitation of climate and water, special casks and a keen awareness of the Japanese palate,

It added that in Yamazaki’s cavernous cellar, 2,000 barrels emit a heady scent as the whiskies mature, the casks breathing as the seasons change to produce a flavor praised by Murray as “near indescribable genius.”

Shinji Fukuyo, chief blender at Beam Suntory, which owns Yamazaki said hot summers make for a complex, deep aroma.

Derived from wells of a nearby town, the distillery’s water is prized for its mineral content and softness, while maturation occurs in hard-to-come-by sherry casks, specially crafted from oak in northern Spain.

The popularity of whisky in Japan has ebbed and flowed since Masataka Taketsuru, the son of a sake brewer, returned from Scotland in 1918, establishing the country’s first distillery at Yamazaki five years later, report said.

As the good times rolled in Japan’s 1980s bubble-era, Scotch mixed with water became an indispensable part of business culture, it added. However, sales slumped as the economy flopped in the 1990s, and drinkers opted for beer and clear spirits.

Highlighting whisky’s increased profile in Japan, public broadcaster NHK is showing a television drama inspired by Taketsuru and his Scottish wife. At a dimly lit bar in Tokyo’s upmarket Ginza district, drinkers, tippling as jazz tinkles in the background, are proud of Japan’s moment in the world whisky spotlight, report said.

Nutritionist Miki Asakawa said she’s happy that among so many famous whiskies, a Japanese has become well-known.