Whisky Live Tokyo 2015 (Part 1): Whisky Live Tokyo Party

It was only a few months ago that the stars aligned and I ended up in London (on a short work trip) at the same time as Whisky Live London 2015. Fast forward to September, and I again found myself on a work trip that also conveniently coincided with another Whisky Live - Tokyo, this time. 

(This might not seem overly strange, if it wasn't for the fact that I don't work in the spirits or whisky industry at all - this blog is just a hobby through which I can indulge my passion...)

Unlike previous years, when it was part of the Tokyo Bar Show (which we also visited this year), Whisky Live Tokyo stood on its own for 2015. After some help from the friendly Stefan of Nonjatta, I finally learned that the event actually comprised two parts:

• A "Whisky Live Party" on Friday night, at the Park Hotel (home to "The Society" SMWS bar that we visited earlier this year); and
• "Modern Malt Market" - the more typical whisky show, with booths, talks, brand reps etc...

Tickets were hastily purchased, and the countdown began...

Whisky Live Party Tokyo 2015

Being a convenient 30 second walk from my hotel, I made my way over to the Park Hotel just before the show was due to begin, and did a lap to see what was on offer. The best way to describe the party would be like a smaller, more intimate whisky show. 200 people and 70 different whiskies, in a quieter, more refined setting.

After being handed a Brew Dog palate cleanser (side note: Japan seems to love Brew Dog!) and my sheet of 20 tokens, the first bottle I noticed was an Ichiro's Malt "Cards Series" Hanyu Colour Joker - a vatting of Hanyus from 1985-2000. Despite quite a few bottles (3,690 to be precise) being produced, these bottles are still highly collectible and fetch a pretty penny at auction. Fair to say this one wasn't going to last long...

A few other gems I spotted before the official opening were a 42yo WM Cadenhead indepedent bottling from The Glenlivet, a fair selection of SMWS bottles, the 2014 Yamazaki Mizunara, and plenty more. Soon enough it was time to start sampling.

Unsurprisingly about 8 minutes into the party, the Colour Joker (costing 7 of our 20 tokens) was empty. I'd tried it a few months earlier, but couldn't resist another dram so made sure I got in early. With big creamy orange notes on the nose and toasted oak, leather and red berry compote on the palate, it was as enjoyable as I'd remembered.

Next up was the 42yo The Glenlivet from WM Cadenhead, who were well represented at both the party and the show the next day. At 40.2% ABV, it's fair to say this one may not have seen it's 43rd birthday had it stayed in the barrel, but 42yo is still a mighty impressive feat nonetheless. With ripe peaches on the nose and an oaky, thin and smooth body, it was an enjoyable dram but nothing overly special - somewhat typical of the majority of well-aged (40yo +) independent bottlings we've come across.

By this point I'd run out of my 20 tokens, so quickly purchased another 10 (2000yen - approx $22AUD / $130HKD) which led me to the 2014 Sherry Cask release from Hakushu. I did find the number of tokens a little stingy (especially when considering the event didn't include a take-home glass, OR any included food), but I guess there were some pretty special drams on offer, and they had to ration them somehow.

Steph and I tried the Yamazaki 2014 Sherry Cask back in December last year (at the bargain price of about $3AUD / $17HKD for a dram - thanks Japan!) so I was keen to see how the earthier Hakushu spirit fared in similar maturation. Turns out - very well. Truly an excellent sherry bomb, with plenty of rich fruity Christmas cake notes whilst retaining that trademark earthy characteristic.

After a few more drams, and a chat with the legends from Melbourne's Whisky + Alement who were also in town, it was time to hear from our host for the night - whisky legend Dave Broom. Dave (donning a kilt, of course) gave a brief overview of what he's been up to, having not been to Japan in 2 years, then introduced the guests for the night - Akuto-san (Chichibu master distiller and industry legend), Fukuya-san (Suntory Chief Blender and the man responsible for Hibiki), Sakuma-san (Nikka chief blender), and Tanaka-san of Fuji Gotemba / Kirin.

Each briefly discussed the event, the Japanese whisky scene and their own whiskies, and engaged in a brief Q&A with Dave. When finished, we realised time was quickly running out to use our left over tokens (this was a 2 hour party after all, not an all-day show).

With remaining tokens in hands, it was off to the Nikka table to try a limited 21yo Port Wood Taketsuru blend released for the 80th Anniversary in 2014. With a sweet madeira nose (with hints of sweet pastries and icing), a big smoky palate with caramel and strawberry notes, and a long smoky finish with lingering demerara sugar hints, this was a surprising and enjoyable blend.

Time was almost up, but I managed to sneak a few final drams including a unique (to me) triple-distilled BenRiach 16yo sherry cask from 1989 (with lots of walnuts and glacé cherries on the nose, and a lemon peel zestiness with tapioca on the palate) and two single cask Nikkas (one a Miyagikyo, one a Yoichi) - both also from 1989.

When all was said and done, it was a great night and a nice change from the regular format of whisky shows. Even though some aspects could be improved (food could have been provided, a souvenir glass would have been nice, as would a few more tokens) considering the quality and rarity of the drams on offer, and the ticket price (5000yen - $56AUD / $320HKD) I'd still say the show was good value, and would happily return.

Keep an eye out for Part 2 which will cover Modern Malt Whisky Market Tokyo 2015 - the larger show on the following day.

Cheers,
Martin.

New world record price for Japanese Whisky at Bonhams Hong Kong Auction - 52 yo Karuizawa sells for over $900,000 HKD

Tonight we attended Bonhams Hong Kong's latest Whisky auction which, in addition to having a full set of Ichiro's Malt "Cards" series (all 54 "cards", including the incredibly rare Monochrome Joker), also featured more Karuizawa than we've seen in a single auction ever.

I went along not planning to buy anything (I did register, just in case), but more out of curiosity and to get a feel for the market. Having attended a few Spink auctions in Hong Kong, I knew that there were a lot of crazy prices being asked for whisky (in particular, Japanese whisky), but it didn't always seem those prices were being achieved. I wondered if the Japanese whisky market had hit its peak.

Well if tonight's auction was anything to go by - it most certainly had not.

Single cask Karuizawas (always a hit) consistently smashed their estimates, often going for 30-50% above their upper estimate. Hanyus and other single cask Japanese whiskies were similarly fetching far more than the higher estimates set in the catalogue. It was not uncommon to see a 30+ year old single cask 'zawa fetch $75,000 to $110,000 HKD ($13,500 to $20,000 AUD).

You almost got the sense that even the auctioneer (a consummate professional, we should add), couldn't believe his luck, but was loving it regardless. Certainly some of the audience (both online and in the room) were slightly in awe.

Is it investors looking to move their money somewhere other than the Chinese stock market? An insatiable love of whisky (we doubt it), or something else? Who knows, but it seems the popularity of Japanese whisky on the auction circuit just keeps rising and rising (for now). Even whiskies from current distilleries performed incredibly well.

The small parcel of Scotch on offer, mostly made up of Macallan but with a few interesting Bowmores, Laphroaigs and others, did reasonably well too, although as seems to be the case often in these auctions, there wasn't a lot of interest in the Glenfiddichs.

The full results can be found here, but the two lots that clearly stole the show were as follows:

• Karuizawa 1960 52 year old ("The Cockerel"), which sold for $918,750 HKD (inc. premium). For our Aussie readers, that's $165,000AUD. For one bottle of (admittedly very rare) whisky.

• Hanyu Ichiro's Full Cards Series (54 bottles), which sold for $3,797,500 HKD (inc. premium). In AUD? $685,000AUD.

You can see a video of the Karuizawa's winning bid over on our Facebook page (and give us a "Like" while you're at it).

Choo choo, or bubble bubble? Only time will tell.

Cheers,

Martin.

PS: Whether or not buyers are buying to drink or invest, we have to commend Bonhams for their whisky selection offered to all attendees, which included a mix of Japanese, Taiwanese, Scotch, blends, malts and even some IBs. 15 whiskies were on offer and (along with the generous food) made staying through the long proceedings just that little bit better.

Tokyo International Bar Show + Whisky Expo 2015 review

Moving to Hong Kong has provided us with some great whisky experiences over the past year - meeting David Stewart, sharing a few 'fiddichs with Ian Millar and enjoying a 1969 Glenrothes with Ronnie Cox to name a few.

What living in Hong Kong has also done though, is put us a lot closer to the rest of Asia, and allowed us to visit distilleries in Japan, India, and in the case of this post, spend a crazy 36 hours in Tokyo for the Tokyo International Bar Show + Whisky Expo. 

It all started when a friend suggested the Tokyo International Bar Show ("TIBS" for short) sounded like a fun weekend. While he didn't end up attending, another friend (Eddie Nara of Barrel Concepts) made plans, and I decided to join in. My plan was simple - fly out of HKG at 1am Saturday, land in Tokyo at 6am, get to the hotel, shower, dump the bag, then head to the bar show and catch up with Eddie just in time for opening. Stay all day Saturday, visit a whisky bar Saturday night, do it all again on Sunday, and fly out Sunday night, back home in time for work on Monday. Simple right? Thanks to the general efficiency of Cathay Pacific (and Japan), that's exactly how it went down.

Arriving at TIBS, I was faced with a queue of at least 400 people, snaking around the Tokyo Dome City Prism Hall venue. Luckily I'd arranged a press pass, and managed to walk straight in via the (empty) media entrance. I made a bee line straight for the Shinanoya stand to order a bottle of the (quite limited) TIBS bottlings - a 6yo single cask ex-French Oak Chichibu, and a 4yo single cask ex-American Oak Komagatake.

TIBS always held special appeal for me - mainly because it combines two things I love - whisky and bar culture (and as we've mentioned before, Japanese bar culture is about as good as it gets).  The venue wasn't big, but showcased a significant number of stalls with every spirit you can imagine, and a number of cocktails to sample too. 

The "+ Whisky Expo" part of the name was evident by at least half the venue being filled with whisk(e)y brands - from the big names (Suntory, Nikka, Beam, Bacardi / Dewars etc..) to independent distilleries (Arran, Glenfarclas) to smaller or lesser-known whisky players (Chichibu, Shinshu (Komagatake / Mars), Kirin) and everything in between. It was particularly exciting to see Kirin - who brought their 17 and 18yo single malt, and 25yo single grains along.

Independent bottlers were also present, with the larger-than-life Robin of Blackadder, complete with his 10 gallon hat, proudly proclaiming his complete lack of filtering for the excellent "Raw Cask" series).

A masterclass theatre provided a variety of masterclasses throughout the day (I attended a rum class with Ian Burrell the "Global Rum Ambassador" on one day, and a Hibiki component class with Suntory's Master Blender Shinji Fukuyo on the other).

A live stage added another dimension, showing various demonstrations and cocktail competitions, including demonstrations from headliner Julio Bermejo of Tommy's Mexican Restaurant (home of the world famous Tommy's Margarita). Enjoying one of these made fresh by Julio and handed directly from the stage was a pretty special experience, and provided a nice break to reset the palate after tasting 20+ whiskies!

The Chichibu booth was crowded for most of both days, and it wasn't hard to see why - with a full line-up, including a few pre-release bottles that read "Bottle 1 of 2"! Akuto-san was also around to greet fans and pose for photos / sign bottles. A top bloke and very humble!

Food within the venue was limited, but with okonomiyaki, tempura, takoyaki and sushi, covered most of my favourites. When a break from the spirits was needed, there were a few options including Nikka (with their Highball machine, showcasing the new Nikka Black), and Brewdog, the Scottish craft brewery famous for making some insanely high-ABV% beers.

The rest of the story is probably best told in pictures - enjoy!

I'm really glad I went to TIBS, and would encourage anyone who likes whisky, cocktails or bar culture to try to visit at least once in their life! A huge thanks to Tokyo International Bar Show and Hidetsugu Ueno (of Bar High Five and the Cocktail Culture Foundation) for the press pass.

Tasting notes to follow in a further blog post.

Cheers,
Martin

Tasted #159 - #163: Ichiro's Malt Cards Series (Hanyu) Ace of Diamonds, Yamazaki Mizunara 2014, Miyagikyo 1987, Hanyu from the last year of production...and more!

A few weeks ago we posted a review of the fantastic Zoetrope bar in Tokyo, Japan, as part of a trip Steph and I recently took to Japan. As with every bar we visited, we tasted some amazing, rare, unusual (and generally, insanely cheap) whiskies.

Here are the five we tasted at Zoetrope (who conveniently are happy to serve most drams by the half-dram), including not just any Ichiro's Malt "Cards" bottling, but an Ace! Sadly (but unsurprisingly) they'd run out of their Colour Joker stocks...

Ichiro's Malt (Hanyu) "Cards" series Ace of Diamonds (56.4% ABV, 21yo, Bottle #407 of 527, Cask 9023, Hanyu, Japan, no longer available)

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Distilled in 1986, bottled in 2008. Two casks: Hogshead & Cream Sherry Butt
Colour: Dark red-copper.
Nose: Rich, Sherried, sweet, raspberries, some almond.
Palate: Leather, oak, spice, big spice. A little sweetness - bubblegum, wine gums, and some apricots.
Finish: Drying and tannic. After a fantastic nose and palate, the finish lets it down slightly...but only slightly.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100. Despite the slight disappointment on the finish, still a fantastic whisky.

Nikka Single Cask Malt Whisky (Miyagikyo) 1987 (62% ABV, 17yo, Bottle #4, Cask #89698, Sendai, Japan, no longer available)
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Distilled in November 1987, bottled in August 2005.
Colour: Intensely dark
Nose: Plums and port.
Palate: Lots of juicy plum notes. Lets you know it's packing 62% ABV, but that's not to say it's harsh. Hot yes, but not harsh. Water really brings out sweet toffee notes.
Finish: Drying, tannic, medium length. Lots of oak. Water lengthens the finish (unsurprising given the ABV).
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100. Better with a few drops of water.

Yamazaki Mizunara 2014 (48% ABV, NAS, 1 of 1,600 bottles, Yamazaki, Japan, ¥25,000)

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Colour: Bright orange
Nose: Spiced, chilli, vanilla and coconut. Lots of coconut (a feature of all Mizunara-matured whiskies we nosed during the trip).
Palate: Spicy, possibly one of the spiciest whiskies I've tried. Peppers and chilli.
Finish: Cayenne pepper, turning into pure coconut. Very long.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100. I probably wouldn't drop the asking price on a bottle (though even if I wanted to, I'm sure all 1,600 are now spoken for, but an enjoyable and very unusual whisky nonetheless).

Ichiro's Malt (Chichibu) Zoetrope Banzai 8th anniversary bottling (62% ABV, 4yo, bottle #25 of 79, cask #609, Chichibu, Japan, not for sale)

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Distilled Nov in 2009, bottled in June 2014 to celebrate the bar's 8th anniversary.
Colour: Orange sunset
Nose: Play dough (it's clearly young) but very smooth. Pineapple too.
Palate: Meaty. Some plastic, crayons. But rich tropical fruits too. Very, very good.
Finish: The only disappointing part. Medium length, tannic and slightly sour.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100. Bloody good whisky, let down only slightly by a finish that reminds you that this is still very young, and has some less than favourable notes that haven't quite left it yet.

Ichiro's Malt (Hanyu) Shot Bar Zoetrope 3rd anniversary bottling (60.7% ABV, 9yo, bottle #158 of 263, cask #9800, Chichibu, Japan, not for sale)

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Distilled in 2000, the last year of Hanyu's production. Partially matured in a rum cask and bottled in 2009 to celebrate Zoetrope's 3rd anniversary (how many bars can say they have two whiskies bottled specifically for them? Zoetrope actually have 3...)
Colour: Orange sunset
Nose: Bacon. Bacon. Some more bacon, and then, for a change, bacon. So much bacon. A few drops of water brought about some smoke too. Smoky bacon. Yes please!
Palate: Intense bacon-ness. Water brings about even more bacon, but also adds smoked BBQ flavours and dried fruits - apples and sultanas.
Finish: Long and hot. Some smoke, quite a bit of vanilla sweetness.
Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100. Not my favourite of the night, but still a fantastic whisky (especially if you like bacon. Mmm, bacon...)

If you ever get the chance, visit this bar.

Cheers,

Martin.