The Best Top-Shelf Japanese Whisky You Should Know

Despite all the talk about exorbitantly priced Japanese whisky, this one is actually rather reasonably priced, especially when considering its layered complexity and age; nothing in the blend is younger than 10 years old. The catch here is that some of the liquids used in the marriage are hand-selected from whisky-producing regions outside of Japan, including Scotland, Ireland and Kentucky. But that’s not really even a catch, because blender Ichiro Akuto serves no master aside from exceptional flavor. He takes great pride in combining the malts he does make in-house with whatever sourced liquids will enhance the final result as meaningfully as possible. Here that equals a 96-proof “world whisky,” with touches of toffee and apple pie crumble.

In order to deal with soaring demand for its spirit, Nikka Whisky had to do away with most of its age statement expressions after 2015. This one was just reintroduced earlier in 2023, and connoisseurs are already clamoring for it, as evidenced by the current price tag, which is nearly double for what it was initially scheduled to retail. Still, even at $300, this nuanced juice is entirely worth the squeeze. It offers a floral-forward nose, drops orchard fruit atop the tongue, then fades from view with a treatise in spearmint. To glean such character from a whisky just over 10 years in age is a testament to the mastery of the malt-makers from this legendary Hokkaido-based distillery.

It’s frustrating to think that as recently as 2019, Yamazaki 18 was still attainable at around $400 a bottle. Alas, here we are—you don’t realize what you have until it becomes exorbitantly priced. Regardless, this spry single malt remains worthy of acquisition at three times the price. In fact, it might just be the quintessential representation of Japanese whisky in bottle today.

There’s so much to consider in each swig. An initial sweetness born of honeysuckle and vanilla eventually yields to spice in the form of incense wood, cedar and clove. Steering this sensory journey is Shinji Fukuyo. The brand’s fifth generation chief blender carefully assembles aged malt collected from Japanese, European, and American oak to arrive at a one-of-kind 86-proof whisky which is staggeringly greater than the sum of its parts.

The Last Drop is a U.K.-based independent bottler that specializes in procuring impossibly rare spirits from across the globe, bringing the precious stock to connoisseurs before it vanishes forevermore. In over 30 releases, this is only the second time that the brand has worked with Japanese whisky—and it was well worth the wait. Upon first inspection, the assertive 120-proof blended malt is brimming with stone fruit and marzipan. Let it sit and open in the glass, and tropical notes begin to emerge. Although it is labeled as 20 years in age, there are liquids in the blend up to four decades old, all of which came together in a cask constructed from Japanese Mizunara oak. Only 180 bottles emerged for worldwide distribution, so stocking one on your backbar is a serious flex.

When Shinjiro Torii opened the Yamazaki Distillery a century ago, he also formed its parent company, the House of Suntory, with the ultimate mission of creating the world’s best blended whisky. He wasn’t alive to see it happen, but Hibiki 30 is the realization of that ambitious dream. By definition, a blended whisky must include liquids from multiple distilleries. The Hibiki line combines liquid from Yamazaki along with its sister property, Hakushu, suspended high in the Japanese Alps (it opened in 1973, 10 years after Torii passed). This is the brand’s elder statesman, which only became available in the U.S. last year. It is a revelation: a bouquet of orange marmalade, fig jam and tangerines, balanced against mocha and dark chocolate in the back palate. It goes a long way in exemplifying why Torii valued blended whisky over single malt—and it also might set you back five figures if you want to own it.