Japanese Whisky to purchase in Tokyo

[DeanSheen]

Hello,

Brother in law is going to Tokyo in June. I am going to have him bring me back one of the 4 Roses, not sure which one yet. In addition, I would like to add a Japanese whisky to the list, not necessarily duty free.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated. I dont think he is going to have alot of time to go shopping so something he could pop in a shop and grab faily easily would probably be best.

[sku]

Nikka Yoichi and Suntory Hakushu are good and readily available. If your friend sees an Ichiro's Malt they should grab it, though they are harder to find and more expensive.

[Luna56]

Excellent recommendations, sku.

The Four Roses Super Premium is available in Japan only. It was about $70 a bottle last year when I was there. I didn't find it to be exceptional but it was very good. Not worth the price unless you just want to have one on hand to fill out the bunker.

See if your brother in law can find you one of those rocks glasses made for the Kirin Distillery. There's an indentation on the bottom depicting Mt. Fuji. When there's whiskey in the glass, the optical effect is that of Mt. Fuji towering above a sea of whiskey. True bonsai magnificence!

Cheers!

[DeanSheen]

Nikka Yoichi and Suntory Hakushu are good and readily available. If your friend sees an Ichiro's Malt they should grab it, though they are harder to find and more expensive.

Which one is the standard Nikka Yoichi?

http://www.nikka.com/eng/products/index.html

EDIT: Ohh duh, it's this one:

http://www.nikka.com/eng/products/whisky_brandy/nikkasinglecask/singlecask_yoichi/

The Ichiro's bottles are really cool looking. I will mention it too him, but since he is on business I dont think he is going to have time to hunt.

http://www.whisky-pages.com/notes/distillery.php?id=Ich

The suggestions are greatly appreciated. I can see the similarities in bottle design between the Suntory and the Yamakazi.

I've decided to have him get me Japanese Whisky's only. I was fortunate enough to have tasted some Super Premium and I liked it, but I would prefer a native product at this time.

[StraightBoston]

Some duty free shops may still have the I.W. Harper 12 yo decanter if you're looking for a Japan-distribution-only bourbon. In Tennessee last month, I learned from John Lunn (master distiller at Geo. Dickel) that Harper may be made from the same 84/8/8 mashbill?

On my last trip through Narita, I tasted the Suntory Hibiki 17 and 21 yo blends and actually preferred them to the Yamazaki -- all spendy, though.

[DeanSheen]

Just found this nice writeup on the new Ichiro's facilities.

http://nonjatta.blogspot.com/2008/04/visit-to-new-distillery-at-chichibu.html