Advertisement

Drinks Food & Drink

Hot for Japanese whisky in Toronto


While passing through Narita airport three years ago, I scooped a bottle of Taketsuru Pure Malt 17 Year Old, a blended malt whisky from legacy Japanese distiller Nikka, for a grand total of ¥3,000. (That’s about $36.) 

In retrospect, I curse myself for failing to clear the shelves at the duty-free, because that excellent whisky is now almost a ghost, elusive even at Tokyo’s best bars and practically impossible to find in boutique liquor stores.

Though Japan’s whisky-making heritage dates back nearly a century (Suntory’s Yamazaki distillery, opened in 1924, was the country’s first), whiskies from Nippon didn’t blow up until recently. Malt whiskies from Japan were under-the-radar delicacies of incredible value long before they became the treasured target of connoisseurs, geeks and bartenders. 

The popularity of the general whisky category has certainly contributed to the Japanese product’s scarcity (and I’m sure the movie Lost In Translation helped), but its star really rose after Suntory acquired American whiskey giant Beam in 2014, expanding the company’s global reach. When Suntory’s Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013 Whisky was named the world’s best in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2015, bottles practically evaporated.

Since Japanese whisky officially became a thing, stocks of any kind have depleted massively. What’s left, should you manage to sniff it out, isn’t cheap. (The same sad tale can be told about bourbon and single-malt scotch. Stop drinking so much whisky, world.)

Nikka-Taketsuru-Pure-Malt-1200px.jpg

But here’s good news for you, dear whisky lovers: you can grab a bottle of Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt for your home bar this weekend – if you’re cool with tripping out to Markham, where several LCBO’s have it – and dropping $81.65, that is. Though it’s not the 17-year-old that I’m still kicking myself over, it’s delicious stuff nonetheless. 

Elegant and sherried, with a nose of apple and cereal grains and a mouthful of fruit, chocolate and warm, subtle smoke, this is a whisky that lingers in your memory as much as it impresses on your palate.

Prefer to sample Japanese whisky without shelling out for the full 700 millilitres? Hit the Black Dice Café (1574 Dundas West, blackdicecafe.com), where there’s always a bottle or two stashed behind the bar. Or try your luck at any decent whisky or cocktail bar.

drinks@nowtoronto.com | @S_Parns

Advertisement

Exclusive content and events straight to your inbox

Subscribe to our Newsletter

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By signing up, I agree to receive emails from Now Toronto and to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.