The following include malts and blends. In the event that a blend is taken from more than one distillery, the master blender responsible is named in place of a single distillery.
Chichibu Peated (53%) Chichibu Distillery. Good example of how attention to detail makes a young-in-years whisky taste and feel utterly mature.
Coffey Grain Whisky (45%) Miyagikyo Distillery (Nikka). Mainly corn and distilled in a column still. Sounds – but doesn’t taste – American. Light and highly perfumed.
Hakushu 12 (43%) Hakushu Distillery (Suntory). Peaty, deep, affordable. If money’s no object, try the 18.
Hibiki 21 (43%) Seiichi Koshimizu (retired)/Shinji Fukuyo (present) (Suntory). A blend of malts from both of Suntory’s big distilleries. World class.
Karuizawa 1981–1984 (varying cask strengths) Karuizawa Distillery (closed – now exclusively bottled by No 1 Drinks Company). Mainly sherry casks, but some bourbon. Hard to get, but great value consdering rarity.
Mars Malt: The Revival (58%) Hombo Mars Distillery. Perfect example of a revived distillery (Hombo) making whisky so good as to be released at extremely young ages. This one is only three and is a belter.
Nikka Coffey Malt Whisky (45%) Miyagikyo Distillery (Nikka). Cracking column distilled malt. Breaks all the rules.
Nikka Whisky From The Barrel (51.4%) Tadashi Sakuma (Nikka). Blend from all three of Nikka’s distilleries. One to turn a dyed-in-the-wool malt head.
Taketsuru 17 (43%) Miyagikyo Distillery (Nikka). A masterclass in the art of Japanese (malt) blending.
The Nikka 12 (43%) Tadashi Sakuma (Nikka). A new and brilliantly blended whisky. Excellent value.
Yamazaki 18 (43%) Yamazaki Distillery (Suntory). Everything we’ve said, in one bottle. One of the world’s best single malts.