The Rising Sun of Whisky

I hear tell the Japanese are making really top notch whisky these days. Only problem is I cannot buy it anywhere near my home either in bars or in liquor stores. Now it must be somewhere!!!! They are winning awards in whisky magazines and you can read all about them so why can’t I buy any? Here are some of the brands I hear are good.

Yoichi, Miyagikyo, Black Nikka, Taketsuru, Yamazaki, Hakushu, Hibiki, Hokuto, and Kaku.

It reminds me of the days not too distant past where I could not buy a pint of Guinness (25 years ago) or a single malt scotch that wasn’t Glenlivet or Glenfiddich (12 years ago). Of course today I can get a good pint many places within 25 miles of my house and 50 brands of single malts within 10 miles so things have drastically improved. I still seek the Japanese whisky because I have not tried it yet because I can’t find it! The other thing it reminds me of is when they did not sell Coors beer east of the Mississippi River. Back then in the 1970’s someone would bring back six packs of Coors and boot leg them for like $20.00 making an obscene profit. It would seem that mankind always wants what they cannot have and I am nothing if not a member of that greatly flawed human race. Perhaps more flawed than most but damn it, I want to be able to buy some Japanese Whisky and while I’m at it, some New Zealand whisky and some Welsh Whisky and any other delicious whisky that may be hiding out there gloating in its diabolical unavailability at the Space Coast of Central Florida. Yeah I’m sure that Chicago, New York, Los Angles, and several other way too big cities have shelves full of the stuff but that doesn’t really help me now does it? If you see any of this delicious stuff please comment with the name of the place where it is available, either bar or store I care not, just let me in! It’s cold out here!

I will go look for it again, perhaps the great Whisky Fairy or the Tuatha De Dannon have spirited the spirits lovingly to my local liquor store and I just missed it.

Another Whisky I cannot find in any store or bar is Glen Grant. Now at least I know the story why I can’t find it. It seems that many years ago a wise merchant from Italy came to Bonnie Scotland in search of a distiller who would give him 200 cases of scotch to take back to the then non-whisky drinking country of Italy. -------Getting a Scotsman to give you 200 cases of scotch---------for free------now that guy had to really be something else. Well he was turned down by every distillery in Scotland ----except one. Colonel Grant of the Grant Distillery did indeed give the man 200 cases of whisky which he dutifully took back to Italy and distributed it far and wide to every bar he could find. It turned out to be one of the all time smart business deals as today over 86% of all Glen Grant Whisky that is produced is sold in Italy. So the Americans never even get a shot at it unless you go to Scotland and visit the distillery. You can even visit the Japanese garden at Glen Grant and there is a bottle of good whisky waiting for you to have a dram at the end of the garden trail. Or there was in 1999 when I was there. So that brings me back to Japanese……please tell me where I can buy some Japanese Whisky.
Thanks.
The Whisky Warrior.