Nikka marks the return of traditional age statements to its U.S. portfolio with debut of Yoichi Single Malt 10-Year-Old. To cope with a dramatic rise in demand and depletion of their aged stocks, Nikka eliminated many expressions in 2015, and they were still cutting back on age statement bottlings as recently as 2020. The new Yoichi is first age statement ...

The House of Suntory has announced the arrival of its first-ever world blended whisky, Suntory World Whisky ‘Ao’, to the general market. Previously available in Japan and Global Travel Retail only, the whisky arrives this month to Canada, Taiwan, Singapore, and Korea – and will be available in the United States in early 2023. Blended using whisky from Suntory Group’s ...

By Kenrick Thurston-Wilcox Rating: B Situated at the base of Mt. Fuji, 7.5 miles from it’s peak, the Fuji Distillery has been making whisky in the shadow of Japan’s most famous mountain since 1973. Despite that, their first US release came only in 2021. The location was most likely chosen for a few different reasons. The first is the glacial ...

By Kenrick Thurston-Wilcox Rating: C In Fuji Distillery’s 50 year history, the whisky-maker has only employed two master blenders, with Jota Tanaka currently filling the position. Jota has the distinction of recently been admitted into the World Whisky Awards Hall of Fame for his contributions to helping the image and transparency of Japanese Whisky as well as his vast knowledge ...

By Kenrick Thurston-Wilcox Rating: A- Suntory operates with a philosophy of melding 2 different “art types:” the Art of Nature (the soul and character that resides in all natural things) and the Art of People (artisans that take what is found in nature and elevate it, yet do not add nor take away, elevating the unique characteristics that make nature ...