Japanese Liquid Gold

MERCI X WHISKIES & MORE Japanese Liquid Gold

Written by and photos courtesy of Hil Ying Tse

You must be living under a rock, if you have not heard of Japanese whisky in recent years! Yet, with a history of whisky making of almost 100 years, the popularity of Japanese whisky only catapulted in the last two decades. The rise of the Japanese liquid gold led to a fast-growing following, while producers were caught off guard and couldn’t keep up with the immense demand. As we know, whisky takes time to age and is not an instant ready product. In order to meet the never-ending demand, some producers started looking at alternatives.

The applicable law for whisky labelling in Japan has not been significantly changed since its inception, hence the definition of “Japanese Whisky” was simplistic. As long as the product is bottled in Japan, “Japanese Whisky” can be used on the label. The lenient applicable law for whisky labelling in Japan, compared to its counterparts in Scotland and the United States, created a confusing and blurry category for Japanese Whisky. Although many producers are transparent and open about the content of their products, many are unfortunately not. The broad definition of the labelling term “Japanese Whisky” made it hard to distinguish if the product is actually a whisky produced in Japan or any spirits bottled in Japan. At the beginning of this year, the Japan Spirits & Liqueurs Makers Association has announced stricter rules for using the term Japanese Whisky on the label that is applicable from April 2021 onwards. In a nutshell, Japanese Whisky is only allowed on the label if the whisky is produced in Japan, including the fermentation, distillation, maturation and bottling processes. With these new rules, Japanese whisky will truly represent a whisky produced in Japan.

WHEN EAST MEETS WEST

One of the producers that has been open about the source of its whiskies from the very beginning is the newly established Shizuoka Distillery. The distillery project was born during a trip to Scotland in 2012 by whisky enthusiast Taiko Nakamura, owner of Gaia Flow. Throughout a distillery tour on Islay, Nakamura was so inspired by the surroundings and whisky making, that a dream was formed. Soon after returning to Japan, Nakamura started exploring possible sites for the new distillery. Initially, his focus was on Shizuoka prefecture, as this is the area where Nakamura grew up. However, it was extremely challenging as Shizuoka prefecture is a protected mountainous area, so the search had to be expanded over the entire Japan. Until one day Nakamura came across the current location. Surrounded by lots of green and close to a high quality water source, this site is perfect for a distillery. City officials haven’t used this site for over 25 years, but they agreed to lease this plot of land to Nakamura for his dream. It must be fate!

From the very first beginning, the concept of the distillery was East meets West. It is Nakamura’s ambition to produce Japanese whisky surrounded by lots of green and mountains, just like the ones in Scotland! With the perfect location secured, the design of the distillery could begin. Shizuoka prefecture is known for its forestry industry and it was only natural to incorporate the local material in the architecture. Perfectly harmonised with the surrounding nature, Nakamura opted for the local grown cypress wood for the building. Not only the outside structure is built with local materials, part of the whisky production process also uses the local wood. Wooden wash backs are traditionally used during the fermentation process, and along with 4 wash backs made of Oregon pine wood, the Shizuoka distillery has 6 wash backs made of local cedar wood.

In 2015, all the equipment of the demolished Karuizawa distillery was offered at a public auction. It must have been destiny, when Nakamura successfully purchased the lot. Although most of the equipment was too old to be used, a few items are now installed at the Shizuoka distillery, including the malt mill and one of the pot stills. The distillery has three pot stills: a wash still from the demolished Karuizawa distillery and the wash and spirit stills from Scotland. Along with the well-known ex-Karuizawa still, another exciting feature of Shizuoka distillery is the heat system used for distillation. The ex-Karuizawa pot still is steam-heated, while the new Forsyth’s pot still is “wood-fired” or “direct fired”. There are not many distilleries in the world that uses wood-fire stills. Shizuoka distillery was completed in August 2016 and by the end of that year, the first spirit was produced.

THE FIRST SHIZUOKA SINGLE MALT

After a long wait, the first whisky was released at the end of 2020: Prologue K. Apart from several Shizuoka Discovery Sets consisting of new make spirits, the Prologue K is the first single malt bottling released by the distillery. Named after the ex-Karuizawa wash still, this release is limited to Japan, with an outturn of 5,000 bottles.

Prologue K is a “single wash still” bottling, meaning the first distillation took place in the ex-Karuizawa still. Made from a combination of imported and local Japanese barley, the Prologue K has been matured for at least 3 years in first fill bourbon barrels. A delicate whisky that expresses fresh and fruity flavours with a hint of peat smoke. Still a young whisky, but with great potential!

The second release, the Prologue W, has just been released in June 2021. As the name already suggests, this single malt whisky is from the wood-fired wash still. Similar to the Prologue K, this release is also a single wash still bottling. At the distillery, they believe that the woodfired still gives a heavier, more powerful and sweet sprit compared to the ex-Karuizawa was still.

Both releases have been extremely well received in the whisky community and we are just at the start of a wonderful journey for the Shizuoka distillery. We can’t wait for more releases to come and share the dream of Nakamura to drink a 30 years Shizuoka Single Malt together! Interested in visiting the distillery? Shizuoka distillery hosts distillery tours up to 5 days a week. Booking is mandatory. For more information please visit: https://shizuoka-distillery.jp/tour/ International releases available at www.timelessandtasty.com