3 Japanese Whisky Myths BUSTED!

Seems that puncy prices are all over the world. Nice video as always.

Brilliant busting Mac! Aint afraid of no malt.

So true. Armandrinksss

Speaking as an American, I think the reason why Japanese Whiskey has such a great reputation is because there isn't a bottom shelf Japanese Whiskey on sale in the U.S. The Cheapest Japanese whiskey you can get is 35 bucks. You can Find Bourbon, Canadian Whiskey and European whiskey for under 10 bucks and it's not a quality product.

Well in 2024 japanese whiskey is way more expensive then just 2-3 years ago! Here in Norway hibiki harmony was 900nok ( 85 euroes ish) now it's more like 1400 nok!!! ( 130 euroes)

So true that my trips to Japan get more fulfilling when i am able to find Japanese whiskies at RRP! One of my favourite memories was finding a bottle of Miyagikyo NAS in a 7-11 for 4800 yen. Lol.

Hi Mac, a good honest video, enjoyed watching it. Shame but I think Japanese whisky is pricing itself out of the market. A lot of competition out there. Slàinte Mac😁

I recently bought Masahiro 12 Year and it clearly states that it is made in Japan with malts from around the world. Does not say Japanese Whisky.

with the current exchange rate, i was able to find a bar with Hibiki 21yr, they have to sell at retail i think. So $25 shots, which means a bottle would be $550 in shots!

What an excellent video. Really informative and entertaining.
You didn't mention if you could pick up these bottles at the distilleries?
Do some, many or most distilleries in Japan even have distillery shops or visitors' centres?

Hello new viewer, I have interest in getting into the spirit business from a quality assurance perspective working with the farmers who produce commodities used to produce whiskeys and other alcohols. Would you have any advice on where to start as a means to get into the business for someone with , an agriculture production background

Great content as always.
Thanks for sharing Mac.
Slàinte mhath / Kanpai

Great one, Mac!
I wonder when Indian whisky will join "the world's top 6?"

K&L Wine in California recently has Hakushu 18 for $700usd, which I guess these days is reasonable? 😅 Cheers Mac

Spread the truth to the world! Keep it going Mac! Yu

Well done

For Myth number 2 I noticed this a lot with Total Wine & More. So the tl;dr is the store I work at got bought out by Total Wine and I noticed they had a few of their own Spirit Direct Japanese whisky. This was exciting, but I found that almost all of it was either, like you said, exported from Scotland and bottled in Japan. Or was actually Shochu. A couple of them are actually good, but I wish there was definitely more transparency in regards to what is "japanese whisky"

Thanks Mac. As always informative and entertaining. Cheers!

Mythbusting of the highest magnitude

Hey Mac. Just watched you live on Vin's round table. You're a good Moderator. Thank you! I'm still looking for my first Japanese Whisky.... Liebe Grüße. Arno

I discovered Japanese whisky before it became popular. Many years ago, I saw a bottle of 18-year-old single malt whisky sitting on the shelf at a BevMo in southern California. It was about $60, and big brand 18-year single malt Scotch was usually around $120 at the time, so I figured that I might as well try it. It was a very good whisky, and I found it to be comparable in quality to big brand 18-year Scotch, or possibly a little better. This whisky was Yamazaki 18-year. It was a bargain at $60. Had I known that Japanese whisky was about to blow up in popularity, I would have bought this stuff by the case, kept a few bottles for myself, and flipped the rest after the secondary market price rose to $1000. Now that the price has shot through the roof and it has become hard to get, it is no longer worth it. If I want a smooth, inoffensive, low strength 18-year single malt, Scotland provides plenty of options that are comparable in quality, and many are still available for under $200.

My taste has since moved on to the more difficult, hard core styles of whisky. I now look for at least 46% ABV, preferably non-chill filtered, single malts that pack a punch. It's even better if it is cask strength, with the intense concentration of flavor that comes with that. Japan produces some whiskies that meet these standards, both in real Japanese distillate and world blends, but the big ones that drive everybody crazy are too smooth and easy going for my taste. It would be nice if Yamazaki 18 was still a bargain, and I would even take Yamazaki 12 if it weren't also overpriced. Though Yamazaki is not the style that I seek out for serious whisky guzzling, I like to have a few bottles of high quality, smooth, lower strength whisky around for use as warm-up pours before I get into the cask strength firewater and for visitors who aren't used to the difficult stuff. Yamazaki would be perfect for this if not for the exorbitant cost. Green Spot is perfect for this too, and it doesn't cost a bloody fortune, so I bought a bottle. If I could somehow get my hands on a cask strength, non-chill filtered Yamazaki, then I would get excited, but I don't even know if such a thing exists. If it does, I hate to imagine what it costs.

A great video Mac, as always incredibly informative. I must admit I completely believed the myth no 1 to be true and I'm surprised and a bit sad to find out that it's busted!

Another excellent video, Mac. Even if I'm not sure pedestalisation is in anyone else's dictionary. Kanpai/ Sainte!

Did you say you were at a Costco in San Leandro? I live in Half Moon Bay, 23 miles away. If you’re ever in the San Francisco Bay Area again let me know!

Clear, logical, unbiased, entertaining.
Excellent as usual.

Is The Yamazaki a good whiskey? I got the 12 year 50ml sample for a buddy back in the states

Yeh Mac I can’t wait to hear all the B S get cleared up a bit more! 😕
🥃👍🏻

Great video Mac!

Brilliant !

Great video Mac. I knew some of this from my own research but I still learn loads from your channel. Thanks 🥃

Had to come straight over to check this one out after I heard you talking about it on Vin's Roundtable ... (Costco can be be a source of whisky value here in the US ...). Another great video. Cheers!

Our Japanese are not necessarily known well about the context of Japanese Whisky. In that sense, this episode is very clear and useful to understand what's going on. Thank you for your big effort every time!🥳

Can someone recommend to me the best Japanese whisky festivals ?

a quintessential Japanese whisky 101 in 10 minutes or less: look no further! Great summary Mac, and much appreciated!

Thanks for the viewer-friendly and entertaining video, Max!

Japanese whisky has that "mystique" to whisky outsiders or novices. But once you drink an odd blend with some strange notes & a label with google translate english you realise maybe not all Japanese whisky is quite the mystical liquid you once thought it was 😂

For myth number 1, I was so happy last week that I found the Chichibu Travel exclusive 2024 at MSRP in Narita Airport while flying back to US, so alway look for whiskey in airport duty free store 😊

Stayed in Shinjuku for a week back in 2019. The liquor store close to the hotel had a lot more Scotch options than Japanese whisky.

A shame at how hard it is to find Japanese whisky in Japan. I was looking forward to trying some proper Japanese whisky (not the stuff I've had here in Canada), but maybe bars are my best bet when I visit the country. Also, I've never heard someone in person say Japanese whisky is the best. In fact I've heard the opposite saying that it's the worst. My guess is that they had bad brands (I've had one myself) or because the whiskies weren't actually Japanese.

Great information about Japanese whiskey!

I'm no whisky snob. I scratch my head whenever I read that some whisky has a sandal wood tingle and banana crust finish or whatever... And I'm not claiming that I've tried every type or brand of whisky there is... But I've had my fair share of drinks and can safely say that the number of Japanese spirits I enjoy far outweighs Scotch, Bourbon or whatever the UK has to offer.