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The best whiskey in the world is not Scottish, but Japan's Yamazaki

Wednesday, November 5th 2014 - 23:38 UTC
Full article 27 comments

Japanese single malt whiskey has been named the world’s best for the first time by a prestigious guide, which also declined to place a scotch in its top ranking. The Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013 was described as “thick, dry, as rounded as a snooker ball” by Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible, which awarded it a record-matching 97.5 points out of 100. The latest guide was released Monday. Read full article

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  • BOTINHO

    Any other members here that have seen “ Angels' Share. ”
    It gets expensive at the top.

    Too hot for scotch in the Nordeste. I'll leave the Glen Livet in the cabinet for guests.

    Nov 06th, 2014 - 02:09 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • paulcedron

    the best whiskey in the world is not scottish nor japanese.
    it´s the midleton very rare, made in ireland, of course.

    Nov 06th, 2014 - 02:39 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Troy Tempest

    Pablo CabanaBoy

    Be more careful with your googling,

    Midleton's is actually Irish Whiskey, not Scotch.

    Irish Whiskey is not Scotch,

    ...just as your “horses” are NOT Polo “ponies” - two different things.

    http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_whiskey

    Shut it, CabanaBoy!!

    Nov 06th, 2014 - 04:19 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • DerkeBlake

    Let's have some fun; nitpick and split some hairs.

    Japan does not even make “Whiskey”; it makes “Whisky”; as does Scotland and Canada (plural Whiskies).

    Ireland does not make “Whisky”, it makes Whiskey, the same as the USA (plural Whiskeys).

    Remember: If the country has an “E” in their name (US, Ireland), they make WhiskEy; if not (Canada, Scotland, Japan) they make Whisky.

    There, I've just wasted 15 seconds of your life that you'll never get back.

    And by-the-way, “Midleton Very Rare” is just an over-priced, tarted-up Jameson produced as a marketing ploy to rip-off the duty-free Asian airport crowds (like Louie 13th).

    Nov 06th, 2014 - 05:25 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Troy Tempest

    Thank you, Derke

    Nov 06th, 2014 - 06:43 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • gordo1

    Who is Jim Murray?

    Nov 06th, 2014 - 06:51 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • The Voice

    The Swedish whisky Mackmyra beats anything Scotch...

    Nov 06th, 2014 - 10:03 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • paulcedron

    boludos toy and the other one @4
    read the headline of the article, you nabos.

    “The best whiskey in the world is not Scottish, but Japan's Yamazaki”
    who the f*ck is talking about scotch, you toy?
    they are talking about whiskey here, got it?

    Nov 06th, 2014 - 10:25 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • lsolde

    Don't like whisky, whiskey or scotch.
    So l couldn't tell by taste.
    Prefer white wine, vodka & beer.
    Actually Japanese beer is excellent too.

    Nov 06th, 2014 - 10:44 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Voice

    I for one, would point out that this is one man's opinion....
    He may be right, but what he is not telling you... is that you can buy in Scotland a great bottle of Scotch, a single malt even of the highest quality for about 30 quid....
    Not a hundred quid...
    Scotland targets a demand at an affordable price..that is the market....

    Nov 06th, 2014 - 10:52 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Trunce!

    “that you can buy in Scotland a great bottle of Scotch, a single malt even of the highest quality”

    It must be the ingredients ; )

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-25863920

    Nov 06th, 2014 - 11:02 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Clyde15

    As I have said before as regards wines or spirits, the best is the one that you like regardless of origin , marketing or price. Ignore so called experts, try as many as you can within your price range and when you find what you like, stick with it.
    Another point, we are not comparing the same products. They all have the same “generic” title but are produced from different grains and processes
    American Bourbon is distilled from corn mash.
    Japanese whiskey is nearer to the Scottish method of production.
    Irish whiskey varies in production methods and is similar in aspects to Scottish production.
    Scotch whisky is produced in industrial quantities in grain stills using whatever “grain” is available - mainly corn..
    Traditional “Scotch” is distilled in pot stills from malted barley which has been treated to peat smoke.
    These can be bottled as single malts, blended malts or blended with grain whisky. The popular Scotch whisky brands are a blend of grain whiskies and malts in about the proportion of 55% grain and 45% malts. Within the blends there are about 50 different whiskies. The idea is to produce a product that is uniform year on year so that the customer can be sure of consistency.

    Nov 06th, 2014 - 11:29 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Bombadier Spoon

    Clyde. You are spot o but you forgot vatted whisky . I love whisky. I spent my years in the army in a Scottish regiment. Last year I bought a whisky called “big peat” as I adore smokey, peaty whiskies and big peat was wonderful. For my everyday whisky I prefer laphroaig. In my opinion islay whiskies are the best.

    Nov 06th, 2014 - 12:13 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Troy Tempest

    8 CabanaBoy

    You missed the whole meaning of the headline - Best Whiskey, not Whisky.

    How's that stableboy job going?

    Have you figured out horses and ponies yet.

    Ponies are closer to the ground - harder for you to get underneath.

    Nov 06th, 2014 - 01:42 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Clyde15

    #13
    I am not sure what you mean by “vatted ”whisky. All bottled whisky comes out of a vat.
    Bottling single malts is performed by choosing casks of the same distilling date and disgorging them into a vat, reducing the strength by the addition of water and then bottling it.
    At the end of a distilling process, the whisky, or more technically Plain British Spirit, is collected in the spirit receiver, volume and strength established and then transferred over to a vat to be filled in casks for a minimum of 3 years. The strength is reduced from about 90% to about 65%.
    A specific number for this operation is stenciled on the cask consisting of the year, consecutive number of the filling and individual cask number
    eg 2014 /1 /1 This would refer to the first filling operation of 2014 and cask number 1.
    If this whisky was eventually chosen to be bottled on its own, then it would probably be a minimum of 5 years old before bottling or it could be blended with some others of the same year. It's age would be shown as that of the youngest spirit.
    Older whiskies say 12 years or more often have to be “racked” into other casks.
    When whisky is kept in oak, it helps the maturing process by removing some unwanted alcohols and esters and making the resultant product “smoother” and more palatable. However, the process starts reversing after about 8 years so the whisky is “racked ” into another cask to keep the maturing process going..
    From initial filling to a whisky aged 12 years, about one third can be lost to evaporation and absorption into the cask. This also accounts for the price of older whiskies.
    Just in case you were wondering, I was an Excise Officer in the whisky trade for over 27 years and had to supervise distilleries, maturing warehouses and bottling plants of about all the major brands,

    Nov 06th, 2014 - 04:40 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Voice

    ...if I want sherry flavoured whisky I'll put some in an empty sherry bottle...
    ...a blend by any other name...

    Nov 06th, 2014 - 06:41 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Jack Bauer

    @12&15 Clyde15
    You obviously know your business. I worked with wines for a while, and most definitely the best wine is the one you like, regardless of origin or price. There are two ways to approach this issue of “what's best”....either objectively, in which case you accept what the so-called experts are saying, or subjectively, which is your judgement based on your own palate. No doubt, experimenting lots of different wines is the only way to learn, and discover what you really like. Same goes for spirits.
    @8 Paul
    the subject here IS “whisky'....the headline wrongly mentions ”whiskey“....take a look at the label....”The Yamazaki Single Malt Whisky”

    Nov 06th, 2014 - 06:53 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Bombadier Spoon

    Your CommentClyde I don't need schooling in whiskies. A vatted whisky is a blended malt, formerly called a vatted malt, or pure malt, is a blend of different single malt whiskies from different distilleries. The term vatted is not a new term or one that is not used often. Actually it is quite a common term amoungst whisky lovers.

    Nov 06th, 2014 - 10:46 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Clyde15

    #18
    The term we used was “blended malt” in the bonded warehouses in which I worked, Vatted or blended, it comes to the same thing. However, I should have amplified my statement to include blended/vatted malts.
    I was not trying to school you YOU in “whiskies” but giving some information to others who have little idea of the processes involved. If you feel offended then I apologise.

    Nov 07th, 2014 - 09:42 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • ilsen

    Some interesting and informative posts here, although I must confess I had never heard of this Jim Murray character before!
    I agree that when it comes to wine or whisk(e)y the best one is the one you enjoy most.
    I do like an aged Isle of Dura myself and do like to try others on ocassion! Never really liked Glenfidditch but it was a firm favourite of my father.
    The Irish 'Redbreast' is lovely and quite hard to find in mainland UK.
    Good Rum is a firm favourite and I do enjoy walking into a store in Vnzla to be confronted with over 40 brands to choose from! None of that foul Barcardi type stuff!
    :)

    Nov 08th, 2014 - 11:57 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Voice

    Ilsen......Jura.....;-)

    Nov 09th, 2014 - 12:40 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • ilsen

    @21
    :-)))
    what do you think you know? Will you uncover the ephemera that is ilsen?
    ;-)
    Good Luck with that. You will only ever know that what I want you to know!
    haha!
    ;-)

    Nov 09th, 2014 - 02:14 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • paulcedron

    nabo toy
    why you insist on talking about horses when you have never seen one in your whole life?

    caballos de polo = polo horses = polo ponies.
    it is the same you nabo.
    and the argentinians are the best in the world, of course.

    Nov 09th, 2014 - 02:09 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Troy Tempest

    23 CabanaBoy

    Horses do NOT equal ponies.

    Thanks for proving my point.

    Nov 09th, 2014 - 05:32 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • ilsen

    ooh! I made a typo!
    Should be Jura, not Dura.

    I shall retreat and castigate myself....
    ... not!
    @24 He only knows about the unicorns in his picture-books.

    Nov 09th, 2014 - 10:34 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Bombadier Spoon

    Clyde no need for an apology. I was in a pissy mood after a bad day at work and turned the keyboard warrior switch on. I did not mean to come across as agressive as I did. By any chance we ever meet the first Laphroaig is on me.

    Nov 11th, 2014 - 11:32 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Clyde15

    #26
    Never mind the whisky, we seem to be doing well enough in other spheres

    roughguides.com/gallery/the-worlds-friendliest-cities-as-voted-by-you/#/15

    roughguides.com/gallery/the-friendliest-countries-in-the-world-as-chosen-by-you/#/2

    roughguides.com/gallery/most-beautiful-country-in-the-world/#/20

    Nov 11th, 2014 - 06:32 pm - Link - Report abuse 0

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