Japan Archives - More Drams, Less Drama

Shizuoka Contact S & United S

7th February 20256th February 2025Coldorak

Founded in 2016 by Taiko Nakamura under Gaia Flow, the Shizuoka Whisky Distillery has quickly made a name for itself in Japan’s craft whisky scene. Nestled in the mountainous Tamagawa region of Shizuoka Prefecture near Mount Fuji, the distillery blends innovation with a deep respect for local resources. Its architecture seamlessly integrates modern design with natural elements, embodying Nakamura’s vision of a distillery rooted in both tradition and forward-thinking experimentation.

A key highlight is its use of two historic pot stills: one salvaged from the legendary Karuizawa Distillery and the world’s only wood-fired direct heat still, fuelled by locally sourced timber. This unique setup enables Shizuoka to craft distinctive spirit styles, often blended in releases like Contact S. The distillery is committed to using 100% local ingredients, including Shizuoka-grown barley, a proprietary yeast strain (NMZ-0688), and pure water from an on-site well fed by underground rivers.

Maturation is accelerated by the region’s significant temperature swings, with ex-bourbon barrels playing a primary role. Shizuoka’s debut single malts, Prologue K (distilled in the Karuizawa still) and Prologue W (from the wood-fired still), gained a cult following for their contrasting profiles – Prologue W, in particular, stood out for its refined fruitiness and balance. With limited releases and a highly sought-after private cask program, Shizuoka has solidified its reputation as a producer of small-batch, terroir-driven Japanese whisky.

Today, we’ll review the Shizuoka Contact S & United S, with plans to revisit the distillery later for a closer look at Prologue K and W.

Chichibu 2013 & 2015 for LMDW

24th January 202524th January 2025Coldorak

In the past, we’ve had the pleasure of tasting a few Chichibu whiskies, including a single cask bottled for La Maison du Whisky. Today, we’re revisiting this iconic distillery with two more single casks, both bottled exclusively for La Maison du Whisky. First up is a Chichibu 2013, bottled in 2022 for their Antipodes collection, followed by a Chichibu 2015, bottled in 2024 for their Foundations collection. Let’s dive in and see what these two single casks have to offer!

Hakushu and Yamazaki 25-year-old (2024)

31st December 202430th December 2024Coldorak

Back in September, I attended the Dugas Club Expert show, primarily to catch up with Graham and Fay Coull, who were making an appearance since leaving Dingle. The event featured a stunning Suntory booth, as Dugas distributes their products in France. One side of the booth showcased Laphroaig and Bowmore, while the other side highlighted Suntory’s Japanese brands: Chita, Yamazaki, Hakushu, and Hibiki.

Thanks to the generous pours from Christophe Davoine, House of Suntory’s brand ambassador, I was able to bring home samples of Yamazaki 25-Year-Old and Hakushu 25-Year-Old for a proper review with a fresh palate. We’ve already reviewed the younger Yamazaki expressions – Distiller’s Reserve, 12-Year-Old, and 18-Year-Old – which happens to be one of the most read articles on this humble blog. Before I dive into Hakushu’s lineup, including the Distiller’s Reserve, 12-Year-Old, and 18-Year-Old (coming soon…ish), let’s focus on these 25-Year-Old expressions.

Japanese Blended Whisky #1 21yo Batch 2 That Boutique-y Whisky Company

Japanese Blended Whisky 21yo Boutique-y

15th February 202415th February 2024Coldorak

In the backdrop of Japan’s whisky shortage crisis in 2015, renowned brands such as Nikka and Suntory found themselves grappling with depleted stockpiles of aged whisky. In response, they made the strategic decision to either discontinue age statements for their flagship expressions or significantly curtail production, opting instead for controlled allocations to their distributors. This scarcity, coupled with a fervent fear of missing out and an element of greed, precipitated an unprecedented surge in prices for the remaining inventory, a trend that has persisted unabated till present day. Amidst this tumultuous landscape, however, That Boutique-y Whisky Company defied the odds by unearthing a cache of 21-year-old Japanese blended whisky, releasing six batches over a few years.

Kirin Fuji Gotemba Single Blended Japanese Whisky

Fuji Single Blended Japanese Whisky

7th June 20237th June 2023Coldorak

Kirin Fuji Single Blended is a Japanese whisky made by the Kirin Fuji Gotemba distillery. Positioned at an elevation of 620 metres, this distillery is nestled in the town of Gotemba, at the base of Mount Fuji. Kirin Fuji is made utilising 100% single malt and single grain sourced exclusively from the distillery (so this is a genuine Japanese whisky). The single malts, distilled using pot stills, and the single grains, distilled using Doubler, Batch Kettle, and Column stills, are subsequently aged in American oak casks. Single blends, a rare category encompassing blends that exclusively feature malt and grain derived from a singular distillery, are a unique find in the world of whiskies. Consequently, it is worth exploring this Fuji Single Blended Japanese Whisky.

Yoichi 10yo (2022) vs 12yo (2015)

11th April 202311th April 2023Coldorak

In 2015, Nikka declared that due to the depletion of their aged stocks, the renowned Nikka’s peated single malt aged versions, namely the Yoichi 10, 12, 15, and 20-year-old, would no longer be available. They were then substituted with a non-age statement version referred to as simply ‘Yoichi single malt’ (we reviewed it here). However, Nikka made an announcement last year that the Yoichi 10-year-old would be making a comeback. It was scheduled to be released at the distillery in July 2022, and globally in Japan in November. As a result, we can now try out the new Yoichi 10-year-old 2022 and compare it with the 12-year-old, which was last bottled in 2015. Unfortunately, I do not possess the old 10 to make a more in-depth comparison.

Chichibu 2011 (2021)

9th December 20229th December 2022Coldorak

Another Chichibu on More Drams. I know, life is hard, poor me, having to try these very hyped Japanese whiskies. Anyway. We’re back to Ichiro Akuto’s distillery, this time with a 9-year-old bourbon-matured Chichibu. As you know, Chichibu is a Japanese whisky distillery that was founded in 2008 by Ichiro Akuto, the grandson of the founder of the Hanyu distillery. The distillery has gained a reputation for producing high-quality whiskies using traditional Japanese production methods, and for aging its whiskies for shorter periods of time than is typical in the industry. This has led to a high level of interest and hype around Chichibu and its whiskies, as whisky enthusiasts appreciate the unique flavours and aromas that Chichibu’s whiskies offer. Additionally, the limited production of Chichibu’s whiskies has made them highly sought after, which has only added to the hype around the distillery. So today, thanks to my friend Benjamin who this year again provided me with a great advent calendar, we’re trying another Chichibu, distilled in 2011.

Chichibu 2011 The Peated (2015)

3rd December 20223rd December 2022Coldorak

If you remember, last year’s advent calendar opening dram was the 2018 edition of Chichibu The Peated. This year we find another Chichibu The Peated, but an earlier edition, and this time behind the second window. We already reviewed a couple of Chichibus here so I won’t get into the distillery history again, but jump directly to the Chichibu 2011 The Peated (2015) review.

Suntory Hibiki 17-year-old and Hibiki 21-year-old

20th May 202219th May 2022Coldorak

In 1987, Suntory’s Master Blender Keizo Saji decided to develop a blended whisky to reflect the sophistication of Suntory’s techniques. Suntory says that their Chief Blender, Koichi Inatomi, sampled and tasted aged malt whiskies from one million casks at Suntory. Maybe not just to make Hibiki, as 1 million casks sampled would mean 91 samples a day for 30 years… Anyway, in the end, Saji and Inatomi found the flavour they wanted by blending thirty distinctive malt and grain whiskies from Suntory distilleries, Yamazaki and Hakushu for the malt, and Chita for the grain. The first Hibiki, Hibiki 17-year-old was released in 1989 to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Suntory whisky. The 21-year-old would follow in 1994. Whatever the expression from the range, they are always presented in the brand’s trademark 24-faceted bottle representing the Japanese seasons. So let’s try those two initial expressions from the range, Suntory Hibiki 17 and 21-year-old.

Yamazaki Distiller’s Reserve, 12yo and 18yo

29th March 202229th March 2022Coldorak

Yamazaki Distillery is where it all began for whisky in Japan. I’ve written before about Masataka Taketsuru, who went to Scotland to study how whisky was made, then would help Shinjiro Torii create in 1923 the first whisky distillery in Japan: Yamazaki. Located near Kyoto, the distillery sits in a quiet place, surrounded by nature and greenery, and with excellent quality water, required to make whisky. Whilst it was founded in 1923, Yamazaki was released as a single malt only in 1984. Though I couldn’t book a tour (already full) when I went there, back in 2018, I could, however, visit the museum, which is free, and features more than 7.000 bottles in its whisky library. I’ll show you around, and then we’ll review the Yamazaki Distiller’s Reserve, the 12-year-old and the 18-year-old.