Japan makes some of the world’s best whiskies, so it is only fitting to raise a glass during the Tokyo Olympic Games.<\/b>
\nJapan has suffered mightily during the pandemic, and while the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games went on, all the travelers and foreign visitors once expected were unable to attend. That is a shame for many reasons, one of which is that Japan is an awesome tourism destination, offering much more than the fascinating modern urban setting of Tokyo seen on television, with tons of natural wonders, beautiful scenery, ancient culture and amazing food. They also make some of the best whisky in the world – if not the best – and that at least is something you can still enjoy while watching the Games. If you are glued to the flatscreen for hours at time, the suggested libation would be the highball, Japan\u2019s signature whisky cocktail, in the interest of moderation. Because Japan has never been a big wine consuming nation, the highball became popular as a beer alternative that went well with food, a cornerstone of Japanese culture. It was popularized by distillery and brewery giant Suntory, which created special draft machines with highly carbonated soda water and chilled beverages, allowing bars across the country ( and now around the world) to serve draught highballs as easily as beer, with perfect consistency. You can\u2019t do that at home, but you can take advantage of Toki, the blended whisky Suntory created expressly for highballs, widely available here and one of the more affordable of Japan\u2019s coveted whisky labels (around $40). For best results, mix with a high-quality club soda like Fever Tree and use oversized cube(s). Another good option for longer viewing sessions is Nikka Days, a relatively new addition (last year) to the lineup from Nikka, one of Japan\u2019s big four producers. Nikka has more than 80 years of blending experience and created Days as a delicious everyday spirit that is very smooth with floral notes (around $50). Marketed as \u201cA Vibrant Blended Whisky for Everyday Sipping,\u201d the blend uses Nikka\u2019s mellow and smooth Coffey Grain Whisky for structure, adding a touch of Coffey Malt Whisky and Nikka\u2019s acclaimed Yoichi malts for sweetness and rich body. The result is a silky mouthfeel, with subdued fruity and floral flavors, best enjoyed on the rocks. If there is an event you are really excited to watch and want a celebratory step up while staying in a blend, I\u2019m a believer that Hibiki is the world\u2019s finest blended whisky (sorry Scotland). The 21-year-old is the most awarded Japanese whiskey of all time, and Japan has won an unbelievable amount of awards, but you pay dearly. Drizly.com sells it for delivery in New York City from $1300, which is actually on the low side, with online prices of up to two grand. Hibiki 17 is the version Bill Murray\u2019s character famously drank over and over at the bar in the Park Hyatt Tokyo in the movie Lost in Translation, and my personal fave though I can\u2019t afford it, with Drizly\u2019s $734 again below average. In 2016 they released Hibiki Harmony, the most affordable and available label in the prestigious lineup, with a $65 MSRP but more commonly $80-$100. It bears no age statement but is made from the same exceptional spirts from Suntory\u2019s trio of distilleries, Yamazaki, Hakushu and Chita, and includes at least 10 malt and grain whiskies, aged in five different types of casks, including the famed Japanese Mizunara oak. You can make a gourmet highball with it, but I\u2019d sip it on the rocks with a nice spherical Japanese-style ice cube. If you have a friend or family member competing and really want to go big, consider the just released new formulation of the Yamazaki 25-year-old, the most famous of all Japanese whiskies and the single malt that put Japan on the world stage. In 1984 the Yamazaki Single Malt Whisky was released to commemorate 60 years since the first drop of whisky was made at the Yamazaki distillery. In 2003 it became the first Japanese whisky to win the Gold Medal at the International Spirits Challenge, and the Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2013 won the most coveted title of all, World’s Best Whisky. This month a reformulated Yamazaki 25 hit shelves in the U.S. and 18 years after receiving its first, the new bottling also received a Gold Medal from the 2021 International Spirits Challenge ($2000). This one is to be enjoyed neat. Two grand is a lot for a bottle of whisky, so if you want to try something far more affordable, like a Japanese whisky under thirty dollars – well, you can\u2019t. But you can get a taste of the Pacific Rim via Scotland with the new Dewar’s Japanese Smooth. This latest edition of the Dewar\u2019s Cask Series brings together the world\u2019s two best whisky making cultures in a single bottle. Dewar\u2019s 8-year-old double-aged Scotch whisky is finished in Japanese Mizunara Oak casks for six months. According to the company, \u201cthe resulting whisky is unique and features subtle floral honey and heather notes along with complex sandalwood aromas on the nose followed by cinnamon spice on the palette – a result of the porous qualities of the rare 200-year-old Mizunara oak.\u201d Best of all, the MSRP is just $25. \u201cIt is an indulgent and pleasurable whisky with a rare breadth and depth of complex and subtle flavors. The smooth yet full-bodied finish makes it perfect to enjoy neat, on the rocks, or in a classic Japanese style highball,\u201d says Stephanie Macleod, Dewar\u2019s Master Blender. But it is quite possible to enjoy fine Japanese whiskies without taking out a loan, and that is where Mars comes in. The fourth of the country\u2019s big four distillers, it\u2019s the least well-known brand here. \u201cPeople know the big ones, Suntory, Nikka and Kirin (Kirin\u2019s whiskies are not exported to the U.S.),\u201d Kris Elliott of imported High Roads Spirits told me. \u201cMars is number four, and the category has gained a lot of international praise. Today we are in this big boom of Japanese whisky. Eight years ago, there were just six malt whisky producers and nine distilleries in Japan. Now there are at least 26.\u201d Mars got its distillery license more than 70 years ago, and in 2013 its 28-year old blended malt won a World Whisky Award. Four years later, Mars was named Best Craft Distillery for the Icons of Whiskey Award. Last year they released Tsunuki: The First, so named because it was the first single malt made in the original Mars distillery at sea level on the hot southern island of Kyushu. This facility was shuttered in the Eighties in favor of the snowy, cold weather mountains of Nagano, but then reopened in 2016. Today Mars uses both facilities, which allows them to blend two very different terroirs for their Iwai blend while producing two distinct single malts, the Tsunuki and Komagatake. They make more than a dozen other labels but only these three are available here. The Iwai blend is finished in sherry and bourbon casks and really designed for cocktails. It makes a great highball, they recommend it for Manhattans, and it is a bargain at $35, as the most accessible Japanese whisky I\u2019ve tried. Personally, my Mars favorite is the Komagatake, aged three years in a mix of sherry casks and new American oak. It is rich and complex and got 94 points from Whisky Advocate. It is not cheap but compared to other high end Japanese single malts it is quite fair at around $200. The Tsunuki is also aged three years, in sherry and ex-bourbon barrels, and sees more evaporation and fast maturation from the hot humid weather, making it robust with a less polished taste, selling for around $250.<\/p>\n