Japanese Whisky

Whisky education from Whisk(e)y Advent 2025 (2025-12-06). Summary below; full write-up with sources and images: calendar/2025-12-06.qmd.

Seriously produced since the late 1800s after distillers learned in Scotland (Masataka Taketsuru). Known for balance and delicate floral/fruity/umami notes; uses woods like Mizunara, cedar and cherry across varied climates. ‘Coffey’ refers to the continuous column still.

Verbatim source text

Reproduced from calendar/2025-12-06.qmd (Whisk(e)y Advent 2025).

Japanese whiskies are a relative newcomer to the game, but have been in serious production since the late 1800s. Japanese distillers traveled to Scotland it learn more about the distilling process, and slowly began making the techniques and the style their own. They also can be hard to find, which means that we don’t see a large selection of whisky expressions from Japan here in the US. The Japanese are serious about craft, and their whiskies tend to be excellent balance and unique flavors. Japanese whiskey is known for its delicate flavors, featuring floral, fruity, and umami notes. Peat smoked expressions exist, but they’re often more gentle and subtle than in a Scottish Islay. Of course, Japan also has different varieties of woods that they have available for aging, such as cedar, cherry, or Mizunara oak. There’s also a wide range of climates on the island of Japan that create different conditions for aging— both humid, tropical regions, and cold mountainous ones.

Today’s whisky was a favorite from last year— Nikka puts out two whiskies under the “Coffey” name, named after the continuous column still that the father of Japanese whisky, Masataka Taketsuru, first brought back from Scotland. One is the Coffey Malt whisky, which is made entirely from malted barley but distilled on the column still, disqualifying it from the “malt whisky” category. The other is what we have before us now: the Coffey Grain whisky, which is made predominantly from corn and aged in old refilled, remade, and recharred American oak casks. This makes it sound similar to an American bourbon, but you’ll likely find a much different whisky than a bourbon in your glass.