Suntory Whiskey:

Like a lot of folks, I think, my tastes in terms of preferred beverage have changed over the years. Where I might have been known to drink a wine cooler or two in my youth, I vastly prefer craft beers, interesting wine, and the occasional whiskey. Also like many young drinkers, I chose to experiment with single malt whiskeys once I had a few coins to rub together. Macallan, Glenfiddich, Oban, and Cardhu were the first that I remember trying, and somewhere along the line I fell in love with the peaty, smoky tasting whiskeys from Islay (Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Ardbeg, etc.).

While living in Tokyo and working for the American Chamber of Commerce, I put together a series of networking events at which member companies acted as sponsors and gave away door prizes and the like. One of our best sponsors was Suntory, which was interested in raising the profile of its Yamazaki series of single malt whiskeys among the international business community in Japan. In putting these events together and working closely with Jun Ago of Suntory, I had my first taste of really excellent malt whiskey not made in Scotland.

Yamazaki Malt Whiskey is generally available in 10, 12, 18, and 25 year old bottlings. The 12-Year Old probably represents the best "bang for the buck", at roughly $35-40 depending on the retailer. The 18-Year Old, with its incredibly complex flavors and aromas is one of my two or three favorite whiskeys in the world, but will run you more than double the cost per bottle of the 12.

In March, 2006 my parents came for a visit to Japan and Mina and I took them to tour the Yamazaki Distillery outside of Kyoto. The plant manager arranged a special tour for us, along with a tasting of the Yamazaki 12 and 18 and the Hibiki 17 and 12 year old blends. It was interesting to see how the guys preferred the malt whiskeys while the ladies preferred the more rounded blends. The highlight of the day, though, was sharing a taste of the Yamazaki 25-Year Old (2,000 yen/$18 per taste), which was simply spectacular. Never in my life do I imagine forking over the 100,000 yen ($900) or so per bottle that Suntory retails this stuff for, but it was a spectacular taste experience.