So I’ll be honest, the bourbon scene in these parts has gotten a bit stale. I don’t mean that in any negative way. Eventually, I figured it would come to this point. But the time is here. The fact of that matter is, there’s only so much bourbon Japan can import into the country, which means options are sparse. I’m fine with that actually. Depending on how you look at it, there are pros and cons to being in Japan vs America when it comes to the bourbon selection.

I’ve been fortunate to have relatively easy access to a select group of bottles and expressions that are Japan only releases and that has been great. But as I’ve finally come to the point of where I finally thought I’d calm down a little bit with bourbon hunting and buying bourbon in general, but then came along something unexpected.

Making the rounds in one of the normal shops I go frequent, I spotted a particular Japanese bottle by the name of “Yuza”. It was a nice looking bottle with a very classy label design (I’m a sucker for nice design choices) and more importantly, there was the ABV – 51%. Next to that bottle was a different expression of the same brand. This time – 55% abv. I also notice the prominent messaging on the label that says “Distilled, matured, and bottled in Japan. Non chill-filtered, non-coloured.”

F*ck me. Am I really seeing what I’m seeing right now? An actual Japanese whisky with a labeling as transparent as this, and an ABV that’s above 43%??? I must dreaming…

(I wasn’t dreaming)

Yet, I was still skeptical. I didn’t go home that day with those particular bottles. But I was intrigued and did my research.

Apparently, Yuza Distillery is a relatively new distillery and they are what they say. Looking over their website and watching several Youtube videos, I was sold that they are an indeed a legit operation and brand.

Went back to the shop the next day. Dropped coin on both the bottles I initially saw. Came home. Cracked them open. Poured up a dram. First sip with The Yuza 2023 expression and holy sh*t…

I think I nearly shed a tear.

I’m actually experiencing a Japanese whisky above the 43% abv range (lol). And while in hindsight I realized there was a bit of youth to the profile, I still couldn’t have been more moved.

Up until now, all the “Japanese whisky” I’ve ever known were Nikka and Suntory products. You know what I’m talking about. Yamazaki. Hibiki. Hakushu. And perhaps to a lesser extent, Taketsuru, Yoichi, Miyagikyo.

Of those, the highest abv expressions are Yoichi and Miyagikyo at 45%. It’d be remiss of me to not mention Nikka From The Barrel which comes in at 51.4% abv, but unfortunately, this is not pure “Japanese whisky” and the label “from the barrel” is also a bit misleading, as it does not necessarily mean “cask strength”. However, this is a discussion for another time.

Let’s not get started with availability and pricing either. Coming from a bourbon background, I could say that the the hype and craze around any Nikka/Suntory products in Japan is almost identical to how folks in the US view anything coming out of Buffalo Trace. Think Blanton’s, Stagg, EH Taylor level of craze. And if you were to score any of said bottles at SRP, expect to see it immediately published on social as a trophy bottle, and put away in the bunker, and be out on the hunt again just as quickly.

It’s crazy, and I digress.

The point being is that my experience with finding any sort of true cask strength Japanese whisky and/or one that is above 45% abv, AND is ACTUAL Japanese whisky, has been non-existent up until now. It’s part of the reason why I haven’t been so enthusiastic about Japanese whisky, and have been primarily focused on bourbon.

And don’t get me wrong. All of these Nikka and Suntory products are fantastic whiskies, but with their relatively low-proof offerings, I was always left wondering how these could be so much more if they just had a little bit more proof.

Enter YUZA Distillery.

This was the catalyst that sparked my enthusiasm for Japanese whisky again. Obviously, this isn’t the first cask strength version of a Japanese whisky to have ever been made. I’m quite certain I’ve probably passed up some bottles before but didn’t even bat an eye because I was too busy searching out bourbon. This was the first bottle I’ve happened upon in my journey of exploring Japanese whisky that captured my attention.

Why now? I don’t know. Perhaps the stars were aligned perfectly that day and the universe sensed my enthusiasm for the hunt was waning.

Anyways. I am excited about Japanese whisky again, and since that day, I’ve come to know that a lot of the newer craft distilleries that have been established from the early 2000s to now have come out, and/or are now coming out, with their new products and expressions.

It’s almost like I’m seeing all these products on shelves now all at once.

Baader–Meinhof in full effect.

And quite frankly, I’m glad. I can say there’s no better time be diving into the Japanese whisky world than now. We’re right in the start of an era of witnessing and experiencing many new distilleries first products.

I always wished there were more options for me to choose from than just Nikka and Suntory, and now there are! I can walk into a shop and not feel completely defeated if I don’t see a Yamazaki 12 or Hibiki, because now, those aren’t the only players in the game.

So what does this mean in regards to what’s to come for dram.jp?

Well, the bourbon reviews aren’t going anywhere. In fact, I have a ridiculous backlog of drafts in my review lineup. But to add on to that now, expect to see a lot more reviews on Japanese whiskies in the mix now too 🙂

Stay tuned.