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Unlike most whiskies, the best Japanese whisky has no real distinction in terms of regional styles, nor does it have any unifying character. This means bottles could be sharp and spicy, smoothly mellow, herbal and zesty or anything in between depending on their blend, grain and cask-ageing method.
It’s important to note that the Japanese whisky industry has recently experienced a shake-up. Previously, producers could use ingredients from other countries as long as the whisky was bottled in Japan, but today stricter measures must be met in order for the product to carry the label “Japanese whisky”. You can read more about these conditions here.
Some Japanese whiskies can no longer be called Japanese whisky, according to new rules. Photo: Filepic
Like Japanese whisky? Well, it turns out that the Japanese whisky you think you may be drinking might not be Japanese at all.
The big news this week in the whisky world has been the new rules for the labelling of Japanese whiskies, which clearly define what is ‘Japanese whisky’.
Why is this big news? Well, because many ‘Japanese whisky’ brands in the market currently are actually blends of whiskies that are not made in Japan, but imported from Scotland, Ireland, USA, Canada, and other whisky-producing countries.