JAPANESE WHISKIES continue to be the toast of the whisky world. Prices of Japanese whisky brands also keep rising, and in fact there is an acute shortage of Japanese aged whiskies. Even in my recent travels to the three largest distilleries in Japan — the Yamasaki Distillery in Kyoto, the Hakushu Distillery in Yamanashi (both owned by Suntory), and the Nikka Yoichi Distillery in Hokkaido — I could not find age-stated whiskies in their own respective gift shops. Gone from the shelves were the popular age-stated whiskies: Yamazaki’s 25- and 18-year-olds, Hibiki’s 21- and 17-year-olds, Hakusku’s 25- and 18-year-olds, Nikka Yoichi’s 23-, 20- and 15-year-olds, and even the more standard 12-year-olds from these big Japanese brands.
Already Japanese whiskies are out-pricing the Scotch whiskies which the Japanese whiskies were actually patterned after. From a production point of view, this is understandable considering that Japanese whisky production is way behind those from Scotland (by far the largest producer), the US, Canada, and Ireland. I also know for a fact that bulk whiskies are being imported by Japanese distillers into Japan to blend with their liquids to cover for the supply deficit and meet the high demand. But this is, however, something Japanese distilleries will never discuss nor ever deny too.
ENTER THE WHISKY HIGHBALL CRAZE
When local whiskies were first introduced by the Yamazaki Distillery in Japan during the 1920s — less than a century ago — it was a novelty that caught on with the public. From the late 1920s to the late ’70s, Japanese whiskies were selling like hotcakes domestically, but still unheard of internationally. But the whisky boom did not sustain itself further, as sochu, the popular rice wine, and Japanese beers took over in the 1980s up to the new millennium.
It took an amazing and brilliant plan from Suntory to revive the domestic market, when in 2008, the company started promoting the whisky highball, which they coined “Kaku Highball” — a simple cocktail that blends one part Suntory’s most basic and best selling whisky, Kakubin, with three parts soda water, ice cubes, and a twist of lemon. The highball idea was not new at all as Japanese whisky consumption in the boom years in between and after the two World Wars was not really to drink whisky straight. But whisky as a drink has been viewed as too old-fashion and catering to the older generation. Suntory just decided to revive it after research showed that the new Japanese generation finds whisky too harsh to drink without any dilution and wanted to drink something that goes with meals. The concept of the Suntory campaign therefore centered on the whisky highball being the beverage-complement to meals, particularly with Japanese food.
Aside from the heavy spending on advertising and promotions, the company also pulled its corporate weight in getting distribution with the thousands of izakayas (casual Japanese-style gastropubs similar to Irish pubs and Spanish tapas bars) that are regular hubs of Japanese employees. Watami is the largest chain of izakaya operating both domestically and internationally, with the Philippines already having a few franchised Watami branches.
The popularity of whiskies, especially among the younger demographics in Japan, grew exponentially with the launch of top NHK TV series Massan as mentioned in my previous column.
Now, the whisky highball is the generational drink, with its demand and popularity yet to peak. Every whisky brand benefited from this cocktail mix, including all of Suntory’s non age-stated new releases of Hibiki Harmony and Chita single-grain whisky, and similar releases from competitor Nikka and smaller Japanese distilleries. The whisky highball is so popular that canned whisky highballs are also produced to meet ready-to-drink retail demand. There are several versions of the highballs now, but definitely the Japanese whisky brands are at the forefront of this cocktail mix.
While the whisky world has been craving for the premium age-stated Japanese whiskies which will take years (or decades) to restock before returning to the market with a more regular supply, the whisky highball evolution is keeping the Japanese distilleries busy. And the best part of the Suntory strategy is that highball consumers are just the entry level whisky drinkers, and, sooner or later, these drinkers will trade up to higher quality whiskies, either to drink neat or on the rocks. Therefore, the highball strategy is an incredible way to bridge the gap created by the out-of-stock aged whiskies with the return to normalcy in the future. The highball craze has not caught up yet in the rest of Asia, but I have tried it and it is a very pleasant dry cocktail to drink.
For now, the Japanese age-stated whiskies can command ridiculous prices because of the finite availability. Exports of Japanese whiskies were also intentionally curtailed with allocations extremely tight and only to important markets because of the huge domestic growth, thus further adding to the acute supply circumstance at present. The Scottish distilleries must be watching with envy!
TASTING NOTES FROM MY HAKUSHU VISIT:
The whisky tasting session came at the end of our 90-minute Hakushu Distillery tour. Every participant got four glasses of whisky to sample, the first three of which were to be tasted on their own, and the last one to create your own highball mix.
• White Oak Cask Malt Whisky — this was not branded but according to our guide was aged in American white oak; I assumed this one could be part of any Suntory blended whisky; the nose was quite fragrant with strong green apple notes, juniper berries, white pepper, and bread dough, still a bit unrefined to me (but I am no whisky expert…) though very long on the finish
• Lightly Peated Malt Whisky — this was another unbranded sample, but according to our guide was already aged just under 10 years; this one could be used in any pure malt Suntory whisky version; the nose fruitier, floral elements, pears, echoing peppermint, more supple on the palate, and with a more complex finish
• Hakushu Single Malt Whisky — this was the same commercial no age-stated Hakushu that is readily available; nose very explosive with cantaloupe, pomelo, citrus, some herbaceous elements, spicy on the palate, with a nice toasty finish
• The Morikaoru Highball — this last glass contained the same Hakushu Single Malt Whisky previously tasted, but we were taught step-by-step how to make a perfect highball, called Morikaoru Highball, with it:
1. Fill a highball glass to the brim with ice cubes;
2. Pour the apportioned Hakushu Single Malt Whisky into the glass and stir well;
3. Add the soda water, approximately three-times the volume of the whisky;
4. Stir once with a bar spoon — note to stir only once;
5. Garnish with a mint leaf, then enjoy (and everyone in the tour group did).
The Morikaoru Highball is one of several versions and variations of Japanese highball cocktails. Please experiment using any of your favorite and available Japanese whiskies… Note too, that although age-stated Japanese whiskies can be used in highball drinks, just remember how pricey and scarce these whiskies are. Whisky enthusiasts will definitely squirm at the idea of a highball made with a Yamazaki 25-year-old or a Hibiki 21-year-old — but then, at the end of the day, it is your money and your preference.
The author has been a member of the Federation Internationale des Journalists et Ecrivains du Vin et des Spiritueux or FIJEV since 2010. For comments, inquiries, wine event coverage, and other wine-related concerns, e-mail the author at protegeinc@yahoo.com. He is also on Twitter at twitter.com/sherwinlao.