Japan is the second biggest producer of single malt whisky in the world.
It has been taking top prizes in international tastings since 2001. At the 2008 World Whisky Awards, Japan underlined its arrival on the world scene by scooping both of the top prizes - the best single malt whisky in the world and the best blended whisky in the world. In the 2011 and 2012 awards, it did the same, again leaving the best distilleries from the rest of the world to scrabble for the minor prizes.
This site is probably the most comprehensive source on Japanese single malts for English speakers. It is also independent. No one who writes for Nonjatta is employed by the Japanese distillers. Sometimes we say nice things about their products, sometimes we don't.
The current regular contributors are the site`s founder Chris Bunting, Brian "Dramtastic", and Stefan, but Nonjatta has never been a closed shop, so please contact Chris at japanesewhisky [at] gmail.com if you think you can contribute.
We have tasting notes on a wide range of Japanese whiskies, reader reviews, bar and shop reports, crib sheets, maps, loads of in-depth articles (eg. a growing history section) and even a mobile friendly site.
Just take a trip down the side bars to get yourself acquainted. Kampai!
Online (US) - I have yet to find an online store in the US that stocks more than Yamazaki 12/18 year. Distribution (worldwide) - Importers and distributors
Drinking Japan is a guide to Japanese drinking culture written by Chris Bunting, who founded and writes for Nonjatta. It has entries on some of the country's best bars, but it is also the first wide-ranging survey in English of the history and current state of Japanese alcohol, with detailed coverage not only of the well-known rice brew sake but of much less explored traditions like shochu, awamori, beer, wine, and Japanese whisky. The book ranges much more widely than this blog, and I believe it gives a much needed general context for the understanding of particular Japanese alcohols. It has been very positively reviewed by publications including the L.A. Times and The Japan Times.
iPhone users: click the pic above and, when it loads, press the "+" in your Safari browser to add an easy to read and regularly updated Nonjatta page to your iPhone home screen.
Or send Nonjatta to your Amazon Kindle reader (to be honest, I have no idea what Nonjatta looks like on Kindle and would very much appreciate any feedback from Kindle readers on making it better.)
About this site
Nonjatta is maintained by a team of Japanese whisky enthusiasts living both inside and outside Japan. It was founded in 2007 by Chris Bunting, a British journalist living in Japan (online resume - chrisbunting.net; email - japanesewhisky [at] gmail.com.)
The current triumvirate of regular contributors also includes:
Brian "Dramtastic" - Nonjatta's whisky reviewing phenomenon. His reviewing is prodigious and the reviews are a great read. An Australian living in Brisbane and a well-known contributor on the Whiskymag forums, he is one of Japanese whisky`s most energetic advocates in English. Here is his scoring system.
Stefan - A composer, teacher and whisky enthusiast based in Tokyo. Stefan operates his own blog at Tokyo Whisky Hub, which covers the entire Tokyo whisky scene encompassing Scotch and other global whiskies, but cross posts entries directly related to Japanese whisky on Nonjatta.
But Nonjatta has never been a closed shop. Please get in touch if you think you can help out. Among the contributors over the years are:
AshDLS - A Japanese whisky fan currently living in Australia. He has spent time in Japan and has a talent for uncovering rare bottlings.
Ulf Buxrud - Author and long time fan of Japanese whisky. He published the first book in English devoted entirely to Japanese whisky in 2008.
Nicholas Coldicott - Writer for the Japan Times and numerous other publications. Knows more about the whole Japanese drinks scene than anyone I know.
John Hawkins - Japanese whisky quaffeur with some great tips on Tokyo's whisky bars. His website is here.
Daniel Mick - An English teacher in Gifu, Japan. Nonjatta introduction. Our man in the West.
Takeshi Mogi - An incredible gentleman who has been extremely helpful in my faltering attempts to get my head around Japanese whisky. He kept the Japanese Whisky Web (now no longer online, but it was the original Japanese Whisky website in English) . I talk about him more here.
Hasse Nilsson - Chairman of the Växjö Malt Whisky Society, one of the most active and knowledgeable whisky clubs in the world.
Nick Sikorski - Nick is a Japanese specialist and is a key figure at La Maison du Whisky of Paris, one of the two main importers pioneering Japanese whisky in Europe.
Taylor Smisson - The doyen of whisky drinking foreigners in Japan. Author of the now discontinued "Malt Drinkers Diary" and drinker of more drams than I've had hot dinners. Introduced here.
Serge Valentin - Author of the awesome Whiskyfun.com and uncrowned king of whisky blogging. Nonjatta introduction with explanation of system.
Bert Vuik - Dutch whisky enthusiast with a towering knowledge and mountainous collection of Japanese whisky (oh, and Ardbegs and Glen Gariochs too!)
We try to abide by the Drink Bloggers Code of Conduct. If you feel the site has failed to live up to the code, please contact me and I will try to put things right.
The best way I have found to print more than one recent page is simply to go to the RSS feed and print from there. If you want to format more or need to print out an older post try this service. Needless to say, such copying is only sanctioned for private, non-commercial use. Please contact me if you want to use copies for any other purpose.
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