A lesser-known whisky outside the local Japanese market, this version of Akashi is specially produced for the European market using a mixture of Japanese and foreign-made malt and grain whisky to produce a reasonably priced everyday blend.

Akashi White Oak is a blended whisky made at the White Oak (aka Eigashima) distillery. A light and fruity spirit that makes a great introduction to Japanese whisky.

Akashi Meisei Blended is a special edition, uniquely reserved for Frech wine merchants. Discover a whisky with a rare elegant profile with beautiful woody and spicy notes.

Akashi Red is made at the Eigashima (aka White Oak) distillery, which was founded in 1888. Produced by Akashi, this is a light and fruity whisky with notes of peach, almond and grape.

Harmony – a rather apt word to describe this well-balanced Japanese blended whisky from the Hibiki range. Hibiki Japanese Harmony is made with malt whiskies from the Yamazaki and Hakushu distilleries, as well as grain whisky from the Chita distillery. The whiskies are drawn from 5 different types of cask, ...

95/100 Jim Murray 2020 Whisky Bible

Winner Japanese Single Malt Whisky of the year in Jim Murray 2020 Bible.

There is a fragility to this aroma almost unmatched in the whisky world:
The malt is sharp and brittle, the sweetness limited to no more than a hint of marzipan.
The oak is ...

A blended Japanese whisky from Nikka made with malt from Yoichi and a combination of malt and Coffey Still whisky from Miyagikyou

From the Japanese distillers Nikka comes their blended whisky, the Nikka Blended Whisky. Yep, that’s it. A simple name, a minimalist bottle, a refined label – the focus here is on the expertly-made blend, brimming with intense fruit and vanilla notes, all very well balanced. Excellent stuff.

While most distilleries use their Coffey stills only to make grain whisky, Nikka use the two Coffey stills at their Miyagikyo distillery to create malt whisky too. The Nikka Coffey Malt Whisky was introduced to their selection of expressions in 2014. Plenty rich and flavoursome, it’s a wonderful addition to ...

Jim Murray scored different batches of Pure Malt Black with 92 and 95 points respectively. This is a great dram, a blended malt made up of whisky from Nikka’s Yoichi and Miyagikyo distilleries. Full of fruit, balanced oak, peat and toffee.

Pure Malt Red is a Japanese blended malt in a charming looking bottle! This is made up of malt whisky from the Nikka distilleries Yoichi and Miyagikyo. The result is a fruit, creamy, buttery, and slightly herbal whisky.

Poised and slightly peaty. Pure Malt White is a blended malt with whisky from Nikka’s excellent distilleries. Really recommend this.

This famous Japanese blended whisky has been reinvented with this superb limited series. Notes of spices and aromatic plants are increasingly present on the bouquet.

The product of two distilleries (Yoichi and Miyagikyo), The Nikka 12 is a well-balanced blend. There’s green-apple freshness, rich fruitcake spiciness, butterscotch and some green-peppercorn punch. Another winner from Nikka.

Relaunched in 2016, this comes from Nikka’s excellent Yoichi distillery. This is a blend of single malts from different years and consequently does not carry an age statement. This is a smoky whisky with a maritime character.

Sapporo Whisky SS is made by Sapporo Shuisei, although the liquid is rumoured to be imported from Scotland. A light and easy-drinking introduction to Japanese whisky.

Suntory Old is a popular release from Japan. First produced in the 1940s, it remained one of the most prestigious whiskies to come out of the country until the 1980s when single malts grew in popularity. Medium-bodied with spicy notes, this is an excellent Japanese sipping whisky.

Suntory Torys Classic is a light and easy-drinking Japanese spirit. Due to being below 40% abv, this cannot be called a whisky in the EU, but is still made from a blend of malt and grai

Togouchi’s ageing warehouse must be one of the world’s most unusual – it is an old railway tunnel in the eponymous town that was never used. This is the 12 year old, a blend of Scottish malt and Canadian grain that’s fruity and citrus-rich.

Although blended in Japan, Togouchui Premium Whisky is a blend of Scottish malt and Canadian grain. Aged in the town of Togouchi in a tunnel that was originally built for a railway but never used – intriguing!

Kiwami (meaning ‘supreme’) is a blended Japanese whisky from Chugoku Jozo who mature their whiskies in a 361 metre long tunnel rather than a warehouse, which is fun.

Tasting note : Chestnut and cracked black pepper with grassy, honeyed depth.

The White Oak distillery, located in the city of Akashi (Hyogo Prefecture), was the first to obtain a license for distilling whisky in 1919. Built in 1888 for the production of sake and shochu, at the beginning the distillery produced only blend whisky in a traditional way and especially reserved for ...

Yamazaki is Suntory’s flagship single malt whisky, from Japan’s first and oldest malt distillery. This 12 year old first came onto the market in 1984 and was the first seriously marketed Japanese single malt whisky. Since then, it has acquired something of a cult following, and for good reason! A ...

A fresh and fruity blended whisky from Japan, this is Yamazakura’s no-age-statement release. This has notes of orchard fruit, salted caramel and vanilla.