The Japanese whisky industry is one of the largest in the world, yet many American drinkers are still unfamiliar with it. Unfortunately, most Japanese whiskies never reach American shores, though it is still possible to find some, particularly whiskies made by Suntory. The high quality of Japanese whisky demands that it not be overlooked, though it often is because of its similarity to scotch. Japanese whisky is different enough from scotch to be appreciated in its own right. But to appreciate it and understand why Japanese whisky is what it is, it is necessary to understand something of the history that enabled and shaped the whisky industry in Japan.
Among the major whisky producing nations of the world, Japan is unique in that it does not produce its own different, distinctive, uniquely Japanese style of whisky; Japanese distillers make whisky in the Scottish style. That is not to say that there are not any differences between Japanese and Scotch whiskies, only that Japanese whiskies are based on a Scottish model. While the Irish make Irish whiskey, the Canadians make Canadian whisky, and the Americans make bourbon, it can be said that Japan produces Japanese scotch – even liquor retailers classify Japanese whisky among scotch. The obvious question is why do the Japanese make whisky as close to scotch as they do instead of making a completely different style of whisky that is reflective of Japan and Japanese culture? The first answer is that the other major whisky producers of the world share a common Celtic heritage that is in possession of a thousand years of whisky making experience. Whisky is part of the of Celtic heritage and culture while it is still relatively new to Japan; perhaps Japanese whisky simply hasn’t had enough time to diverge from its scotch inspiration. The second answer is that the Japanese are actually making a whisky that reflects their culture.
The Japanese have long been accused by Westerners of being copycats, of merely learning how to make Western goods and then creating knockoffs. While an argument can (loosely) be made to support that accusation, it is fundamentally inaccurate and unfair. Recorded Japanese history begins in the 4th Century AD because Japan had no written language before that time. Instead of inventing a written language, Japan borrowed one and wrote and conducted business and government affairs in Chinese in much the same way that the language of court in Medieval London was not English but French. In Japan, as in England, it took time and the efforts of literary writers – writers whose work was not official in a political or commercial sense – to change that and create a new language for the respective peoples of those two island nations to use. From China, Japan also borrowed Confucianism, Buddhism, and the basis of Japanese art in all forms. However, by the middle of the Heian Era (roughly 800-1150 AD) nearly everything Chinese in Japan had been creatively transformed into distinctively Japanese forms. For the next 1000 years, Japan, building upon an originally Chinese foundation would become progressively ever more distinctly Japanese and virtually unrecognizable from any but the most recognizable Chinese influence.
And then the Americans came.
When Commodore Perry of the U.S. Navy sailed into Edo (now Tokyo) Bay in 1853, old Japan died. What followed Perry’s arrival was a tumultuous period characterized by the rapid Westernization of Japan. However, Perry was not the first Westerner that the Japanese had met. As in so many other places, it was Iberians who made the first contact and introduced Japan to the West. Just like everywhere else that the Portuguese and Spanish went, one of the chief exports to Japan was Christianity. Initially the missionaries were quite successful, particularly in the North. That was a problem. In Japan, according to Shinto and historical tradition, the emperor is semi-divine. The conflict with Christianity is obvious, as is the threat that Christianity posed to Japanese political stability. As a result, Tokugawa Japan (1600-1868) was officially closed to foreigners. Except the Dutch. The Dutch had no problem staying out of the religious life of Japan; they simply wanted to trade. It was from the Dutch that some Japanese received an education in Western science, or as the Japanese referred to it, “Dutch learning.” Through Dutch learning, the Japanese learned a great deal about Western technology and the superiority of Western arms (It is tragically ironic that the Dutch were restricted to Nagasaki, a city that can be considered synonymous with an East-West weapons technology gap). As a result of Dutch learning, the Japanese were keenly aware that they were outgunned and outmatched by the implacable Yankees. In the period that followed, known as the Meiji Restoration, Japan can quite rightly be said to have copied the West in nearly every aspect of political, professional, and daily life. But the choice was clear: Westernize or continue to suffer under the yoke of enforced inequality. Japan chose to Westernize, though not without controversy. There was political infighting and even assassinations; there were pitched battles and even a major revolt from some of the old guard Samurai. In the end, Western ways won out and Japan became the first non-Western nation in history to sit equally with the great Western powers at the tables of diplomacy and international affairs. It was during this period of copying and adopting Western ways as a matter of policy and national survival that Japanese distillers began making whisky.
The Japanese were already familiar with distilled spirits. Distilling technology originated in the Middle East and moved east in the same way that it moved west. As the knowledge of distillation made its way through China, it eventually made its way to Japan sometime in the 13th Century – about the same time that distillation likely reached Scotland. The Japanese used distillation to make a drink called “shochu,” which, according to Ulf Buxrud in “Japanese Whisky: Facts, Figures, and Taste,” can be made from several different grains including rice, barley, and sweet potatoes. Shochu is still made in Japan and, like whisky, is produced in compliance with strict laws governing the ingredients and distillation process. As Western products and styles became popular throughout Japan, distillers began making whisky. However, in the early years of the 20th Century, whisky was produced on a small scale in Japan. For whisky to take off in Japan and become an industry it would need the efforts of a visionary entrepreneur.
Shinjiro Torii, born during the Meiji Restoration, worked at a drug store making drinks and then opened his own store, the Kotobuyika Liquor shop. By 1920, Torii was intent on making his own whisky. In 1923, Torii hired Masataka Taketsuru as master distiller in order to realize his goal of making a Japanese whisky. Taketsuru was probably the ideal choice for master distiller as he was the first person from Japan to go to Scotland to study whisky making. He attended the University of Glasgow and apprenticed as much as he could at Scottish distilleries. When he returned to Japan he was ready to make whisky. The whisky that Torii and Taketsuru made was given the name Suntory, which is now the name of the company. However, the partnership was short lived as Taketsuru left the company in 1934 to found his own, the Nikka Distillery. One of the possible reasons for that falling out between Torii and Taketsuru is, according to Buxrud, a disagreement over where to build the distillery. Torii wanted to build it in the village of Oh-Yamazaki and Taketsuru wanted to build the distillery in northern Japan in a place called Yoichi (The names Yamazaki and Yoichi are, today, both very famous and well regarded whisky brands. They are also pictured above).
The decision of where to build the distillery was an important one as the geography of Japan varies significantly from one end of the country to the other. Masataka Taketsuru built his distillery in Yoichi because the climate and the topography there are very similar to Scotland. By contrast, Shinjiro Torii built his first distillery further south where the climate is substantially warmer. Climate is a very important consideration when making whisky because it affects how the whisky ages. Like anything else, whisky expands and contracts with temperature fluctuations. As the whisky begins to evaporate it gains exposure to the barrel wood and, when the temperature has cooled, the whisky condenses back out of the wood. A hotter climate will directly affect how much whisky is lost to evaporation – a portion known as the angels‘ share. Additionally, a whisky will age faster in a climate that has great variety in temperatures. Because the Japanese climate is different from the Scottish one, Japanese whiskies age differently from the way that scotches do; this is one of the key differences that makes Japanese whisky unique. Another key difference is the barrel wood. While Japanese distillers use many of the same types of barrels that Scotch distillers do, some also use Japanese Mizunara oak. Perhaps the biggest difference between Japanese and Scotch whiskies is found in blended whiskies. First, Scottish distillers freely exchange whiskies with one another for the purpose of making blended whiskies. Japanese distillers do not; everything that goes into the blend is made in house by one company. This practice leads to less variety in blended whiskies but it also enables distillers to do something special. Nikka From the Barrel (pictured above) is a blended whisky that is made in an unusual way. Typically, whiskies are blended just before bottling; aged malts are mixed together and bottled. But the constituent whiskies in Nikka From the Barrel are blended when they are new and then put into the barrel to age together as one blend. This practice leads to a more unique whisky then is generally the case with other blends because the blended product is subject to all of the variables in the aging process, which takes some of the control over flavor out of the blender’s hands.
Japanese whisky may be modeled after scotch, but that does not mean that it is just a knockoff. The Japanese have been making quality whisky for nearly one hundred years now, and still many whisky drinkers in America continue to look at Japanese whiskies with a jaundiced eye. Because Japanese whisky so closely resembles scotch, some disparage it as just a copy of someone else’s product. The reality is quite different. Japanese whiskies are unique and different from Scotch. Just like other whisky varieties, Japanese whisky does indeed represent the nation and the culture that it comes from, in the sense that Japan has a long history of adopting foreign things and then making them their own. The Japanese whisky industry began by studying Scotch, but it and the drinks that it produces have evolved. Japan makes fine whisky. Drink it if you can find it.