Around the world, the world's best-known whisky still comes from Scotland, where there is the "whisky giant" - McAllen.
But for more than a century, Japanese whisky has been on the rise.
The "hard to find bottle" of the new wine, the repeated win of the WWA World's Best Whisky Award, and the crazy praise of whisky experts such as Jim Murray in the Whisky Bible.
Riwei grasps its own positioning, constantly brews unique flavor wine, consolidates its advantages and innovates at the same time, and wins the favor of more and more whisky lovers and practitioners.
There are a few very interesting things about Japanese whiskey, the charming sake of this whisky-producing world in the charming corners of the world.
Learn more about Riwei, start with these 7 things!
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The Tradition of Japanese Whiskey Making dates back to the late 19th century.
At that time, in Japan, there was no whisky distillation house, there was no whisky distillation process, and some Japanese merchants, seeing the benefits, began to add pigments to imported alcohol to make so-called "whisky" and sell it.
Therefore, the so-called "Riwei" at the beginning was nothing more than alcohol + pigment.
It wasn't until the 1920s that things changed dramatically.
Shinjiro Torii and Masataka Takezuru established the Yamazaki Distillery in Osaka, and in 1929 they jointly developed the first true Japanese whisky, the White Razak Whisky.
Since then, Riwei has been on the right track.
△ Japan's first whisky - Suntory Baiza whisky
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In Japan, the most popular way to drink whisky is "whisky + soda + ice." ”
This is what we often call the "highball" high ball drinking method.
Japan's "highball" golf whisky was popular in the 50s and 60s and was later brought back by Suntory marketing.
When the entire Japanese whisky industry was in a slump, the "highball" drinking method attracted many young people to drink, and even once made the sales of whisky soar.
But that's not the best.
Best of all, the "highball" drinking method is so popular that we can even buy bottled "Suntory Golf Balls" from vending machines at airports and hotels.
I have to say that the Japanese really can play.
△ Filling of Suntory highball
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="14" > #3, dilemma: Riwei's "pride" is gone</h1>
In Scotland, wineries tend to share whisky stocks – exchanging original wines with each other to make blended whiskies with more flavours.
This practice has not been done in Japan before. Before the distilleries in Japan, they themselves produced many kinds of whiskey, thus keeping the entire process and ingredients in-house.
There is a big advantage of not choosing to exchange the original wine: the distillery itself, which allows for better control over the production of whisky, makes a flavor that is more suitable for whisky lovers.
This was once regarded as the uniqueness of Nikko, and some people thought it was the pride of Nikko because it treated consumers better.
However, that has changed.
Nagahama Distillery and Saburo Maru Distillery have begun exchanging original sake and today launched Japan's first whisky by exchanging malt whisky original sake: "FAR EAST OF PEAT".
The "pride" of Riwei is gone.
No way, the big distilleries don't exchange the original wine, they have money, how they can produce it themselves.
But in small wineries, it is obviously much cheaper to exchange original wine than to produce.
And, the cost is much lower, really fragrant!
△ Nagahama & Saburo Maru FAR EAST of PEAT whisky released today
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Traditionally, Scotch whisky is aged from American and European oak, and wine is aged in oak barrels.
But in Japan, the hydra barrel provides a unique flavor for whisky.
The Hydra Bucket has sandalwood, coconut and Garo incense, which is very suitable for helping whisky produce a unique flavor, and people praise Yamazaki whisky as "Oriental Charm" and "Oriental Zen Sandalwood", which has help from the Water Bucket.
However, there is a problem with the porosity of the water bottle, and the index of leakage and volatilization of the original wine is much higher than that of ordinary oak barrels.
Therefore, the water bottle can not usually be used for a long time, and generally used with other wood. It is very "afraid of loneliness", so it often becomes a "bucket".
Therefore, whisky specially aged in water buckets is very precious.
For example, the 2017 version of this Yamazaki 18-year Hydra Barrel has a market price of 30,000 yuan, while the Yamazaki 18-year regular version is only about 7,000. More than 4 times the spread.
The solitude of the water bucket is very expensive!
△ Source: Nomura Oriental International Securities
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="14" > #5, learning: "plagiarism has become the first" of the day</h1>
Masataka Takezuru, the father of Japanese whisky, returned from his studies in Scotland more than a hundred years ago and achieved a great cause of Japanese whisky.
Today, Riwei has established itself as a sect, but it is still deeply influenced by Scotland.
For example, the owners of Japanese distilleries often buy distillation equipment from Scotland;
Barley, for example, used to produce whisky throughout Japan, is mainly imported from Scotland.
Another example is our magical "pseudo-sun power".
There is a large number of whiskies in Japan, which are mixed with the original wine imported from Scotland with the wine from the Japanese side, and even directly use Scottish wine and then paste a "Japanese whisky" brand for sale.
There is the "pseudo-Japanese choice", Kurayoshi whiskey.
Logically, the quality of the cheap original sake used by others may be worrying, but Kurayoshi whisky has won various awards and been praised by various people.
In the 2019 International Whisky Challenge, Kuraki Whisky won three first prizes. In the same year, at the WWA World Whisky Grand Prix, Kurayoshi won three more "bests" in 8 years, 12 years and 18 years in Kurayoshi.
"Plagiarized" Scotland's "cangji whiskey" has become the first?
Naturally, behind this is the world's number one in the world for japanese brewers to make blended whiskies.
However, it is also too interesting that "plagiarism" has become the first Day wei.
△ Kurayoshi blended whisky in 18 years
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According to a study by whisky expert Manswell:
"Japanese people prefer mixed whisky to single malt whisky. Japan strikes a balance in cultural values, and the flavor balance required by mixed whiskies may explain this trend to some extent. ”
Looking at culture from how much mixed whisky is loved? Got it!
Other than that.
Whisky expert Manswell also mentions:
"Compared to the traditional charcoal filtration method of most whiskies, many Japanese breweries use bamboo filtration to produce whisky, which makes whisky not only fragrant, but also mellow and rich, and adds a fruity, sweeter flavor."
In this regard, it is connected with pure and innocent Japanese culture.
Therefore, the success of Japanese whisky is not accidental, it has its uniqueness, its connotation, and there is a more fascinating place.
△ The Knot of 25 Years of Friendship between Shirasu and Yamazaki Limited Edition Whisky
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Like whisky wines around the world, distilled liquor in Japan also produces rare whiskies.
For example, Yamazaki 55 years, limited to 100 bottles, each bottle can sell for 5.5 million yuan.
Yamazaki whisky has thus gained a foothold in the whisky industry.
Of course, this 55-year-old vintage is difficult for ordinary wineries to produce. What about other Japanese whisky distilleries?
Since the auction of tens of millions of "Feather Playing Card Series" whiskies, there have been. Japanese sake breweries have begun to produce "limited edition series" sake.
For example, Atsugishi Distillery, which produces the "24 solar terms" series of sake, has produced two models. The two wines that appeared have achieved a change in the factory price of one or two hundred yuan to the secondary market price after listing to one or two thousand.
Other distilleries have also more or less begun to launch limited series of wines, and most of these wines will be higher than the ex-factory price.
The success of Japanese whisky in limited editions and series of sake is enormous.
Find a successful way to use it to the extreme.
Riwei's "limited edition" marketing has pushed Riwei to another climax.
△ Atsugishi 24 Solar Terms Series Cold Dew Whisky
above.
The history of Japanese whisky for a hundred years is still too short compared to Scotch whisky.
However, these Japanese whiskies grasp their own positioning, constantly brew unique flavors of sake, in the face of change, consolidate their advantages and innovate at the same time, it is really powerful.
Awesome excess!