Author Archives: George Koutsakis

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Fukuoka Whisky Talk 2017 – The Highlights

On June 18th, during the height of summer, on Japan’s most southerly island, Kyushu, the annual Fukuoka Whisky Talk festival was held. The city of Fukuoka is known for many things: The infamous Hakata ramen; its exciting nightlife; and many wonderful luxurious, underground bars. While the largest concentration of whisky events throughout the year are […]

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A Tour of Wonders at The Hakushu Distillery

Ready for some exciting news on Hakushu, our dedicated distillery of the month? The founder of Suntory, Shinjiro Torii is a legend. He brought Japanese whisky to life with the creation of the Yamazaki distillery in 1923, and worked tirelessly for decades to create unique Japanese whiskies which would be loved by his fellow countrymen. […]

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The Wonders of Japanese Mizunara Oak

As many of you may know, the period of World War 2 was an extremely difficult time for numerous countries, including Japan. One major issue during that time was that Japan had no access to imports. Therefore, Japanese whisky producers were finding it increasingly difficult to secure barrels for maturation during that period. While Japanese […]

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Interview With Ichiro Akuto – The Japanese Whisky Rockstar of Chichibu Distillery

Today marks an extremely exciting day at dekanta as we bring one of our most interesting interviews to date! Ichiro Akuto, known as the rockstar of the Japanese whisky industry, has allowed us to ask him a few questions about his distillery, Chichibu, and the amazing whiskies they are creating there. I doubt I’m alone […]

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The Rise Of Japanese Craft Gin

It was only a matter of time. Japanese whisky exploded in popularity all around the world, with thirsty fans rushing to get their hands on the rarest and most limited bottlings. Smaller whisky distilleries, without the asset of age, are constantly experimenting, creating new flavours and methods to bring the most exciting and innovative drams […]

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The “Revival” Of Japanese Whisky

We recently  discussed the current shortage of well-aged Japanese whisky on both the Japanese and global market in The “Death” of Age-Statement Japanese Whisky To summarize, Japanese whisky distillers didn’t expect the quick and rapidly growth that came with the Japanese whisky boom, and so, didn’t place enough whisky in barrels several decades ago. This […]

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The Top 3 Japanese Whisky-Loving Dads

Father’s day is almost here, kicking off on Sunday the 18th of June. There are many great gifts to get your dad this year, the obvious and best choice being a bottle of great Japanese whisky. While the whisky world is changing, and becoming more popular across a wider age range in the population, the […]

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Bar Zoetrope – A Japanese Whisky Haven In Tokyo

Many of the things that make Japan so wonderful and authentic are also the things that can make it a little difficult for visitors to get around the country. Signs and menus are usually in Japanese, and fluent English speakers are a rare occurrence. For this reason we’ve decided to point you guys in the […]