Category Archives: Behind the Bar

The Best Japanese Whiskies of 2022 So Far…

We’re about halfway through 2022 and in recent months we’ve started seeing some fantastic releases from Japan’s newer and legendary distilleries alike. With that in mind, we felt like this might be a good time to round up the best releases of the year to date. Each of these unique whiskies has been painstakingly created […]

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Japanese Pair – Nikka Coffey Malt & Xiao Long Bao Dumplings

After a long break (I was on a strict whisky-only diet) we’re back with the latest instalment of our Japanese Pair series, a range dedicated to pairing the very best Japanese whiskies with delicious dishes. So far we’ve paired the Yamazaki 18 with some gorgeous Wagyu beef, the Hibiki 21 with nigiri sushi, and the […]

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New Sakurao Japanese Gin Captures The Spirit Of Japan’s “Shrine Island”

We’re excited to announce that Hiroshima’s Sakurao distillery will be releasing a new, limited gin on September 3rd, adding yet another expression to its award-winning portfolio of craft Japanese gin bottlings. We’ll, of course, have the bottle on dekanta, so pre-order yours here. Since its inception, the Sakurao distillery has focused heavily on Hiroshima, with […]

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Kamiki Intense: A Leap Forward For Japanese Wood

What comes to be when a world whisky category is given complete freedom, with barely any production regulations in place to hinder creativity? The answer is simple – unrestricted experimentation. Scotch whisky has rules, many of them, set by the Scotch Whisky Association. In many ways, these rules work well in maintaining the category’s traditions, […]

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Japanese Spirits To Enjoy In Summer 2018

We’re halfway through summer, and it’s been a great one so far. The United Kingdom is enjoying one of the hottest summers in history, the West Coast is warm and comfortable, and in Japan, the humidity and heat makes one long for a refreshing, frosty beverage. No matter where you are in the world, summer […]

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Marugin – The Birthplace of The Japanese Whisky Highball

Located on a small street near Ginza station in Tokyo, bar Marugin is usually packed. Smoke and steam rise up from the central kitchen and bar, as the chefs grill up an assortment of skewers and small Japanese dishes. Servers hold large Suntory tumblers under the highball dispensing machines, as the floor staff moves around […]

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Japanese Gin “Sakurao Original” Tops Category At Los Angeles International Spirits Competition

Last year will be known as the year of Japanese gin when the category really boomed and Japan’s largest whisky makers, Suntory and Nikka, entered the scene with their very own craft gin expressions featuring local botanical-heavy recipes. The category hasn’t stopped moving forward since, as small producers all around Japan continue to release new […]

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Kikou 2018 – A Japanese Whisky Encased In Scottish Legend

What happens when you take the booming category of Japanese whisky and fuse it with the traditions of Scotch? You get an expression as unique as they come. We celebrated our 3rd anniversary during the first 10 days of June, holding social media competitions, flash sales, and delivering abundant content. But everything was leading up […]