In fact, the Highball is a simple drink that is very popular in Japan, a combination of whisky, soda water, and a slice of lemon or citrus peel. You can definitely use Japanese whisky in cocktails.

Overall, the style of Japanese whisky runs the gamut, from peated to sherry cask-influenced, to light and floral. As it stands now, some bottles include whisky imported from other countries into the blend, but these are starting to be labeled as world whiskies. Recently, regulations have been put into place which should become law over the next few years to properly define Japanese whisky. How is it different from other types of whisky? Blending is very important in Japanese whisky, as many distilleries make different types of whisky which are married together by the master blender before bottling. Single malts and blends are the main styles made, using pot and column stills and aged in a variety of barrel types including ex-bourbon barrels, sherry casks, and Japanese Mizunara oak. Japanese whisky is most similar to scotch whisky in terms of its production methods. If you can snag a bottle, you won’t be disappointed. It’s aged in a combination of cask types, resulting in a fruity, spicy, and oaky single malt whisky that is best sipped on its own.

Yamazaki 12 ( view at Drizly) isn’t exactly a cheap bottle of Japanese whisky, but it’s arguably the best.

Suntory whiskey toki rating