Swine flu shuts down Suntory

Update: The distilleries have now been reopened

Suntory have closed all of their distilleries to the public because of the swine flu epidemic.

No one in the company has yet contracted the illness but the epidemic is spreading rapidly in Japan. There were 238 confirmed cases as of today, more than any other country except Mexico, the US and Canada. Thousands of schools have been closed in the Kansai region, where the outbreak is concentrated.

Suntory's traditional base is in Kansai and it has several factories there, including the famous Yamazaki distillery.

All of the sites have been closed to the public until further notice although the company will continue normal operations behind closed doors.

Keita Minari, Suntory's global marketing manager, said the Yamazaki and Hakushu distilleries had turned away more than 100 tour groups: "Unfortunately we also had to turn down a visit of Swedish writers and French customers next week."

Nikka whisky, which is based mainly in the north of Japan, has not yet closed any of its facilities.

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Nonjatta on Amazon`s Kindle

For the reader who asked if Nonjatta`s feed could be published on Amazon's Kindle book reader.... Nonjatta on Amazon's Kindle book reader (and, of course, the Kindle reader app on the iphone).

Amazon are charging Kindle users $1.99 a month to subscribe to Nonjatta. I could wander off on a long digression about how this pricing says a lot about their attitude to blogs but I won't. They will keep about 70 per cent of the profit. Of course, Nonjatta's feed is usually completely free but Amazon will not allow writers to publish on that basis on the Kindle (although, of course, any Kindle user could access it free through the browser or a web based rss aggregator). From my point of view, I am not at present looking to make a stack of money from the Nonjatta feed. I suspect I will not get more than a couple of subscribers and a couple of pence, but I do want as many people as possible to have access in whatever way they want to Nonjatta.

If anybody has any other requests for publication formats for my feed then please send a note to japanesewhisky at gmail.com (it would help if you could do a little prior research on how it could be achieved).

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Single Coffey Grain 12yo - 70th Anniversary Selection

Single Coffey Grain, second from the right

Distillery
Nishinomiya

Review by Nonjatta contributor - Serge Valentin

Visit Serge`s website, the definitive Whiskyfun.com.

"Nikka 12yo '70th Anniversary' (58%, OB, Single Coffey Grain, Bottled +/- 2008)
From a 4 piece set that includes four 12 year olds (Yoichi, Miyagikyo, Coffey Grain, Blend).
Colour: Gold.
Nose: Different from the 1992. Less rounded and less ‘directly’ vanillaed but more spirity. Also has quite strange whiffs of sweat (locker room after a rugby game? ... er, not quite). Also hints of blood oranges and something like lychee liqueur (we have already noticed lychees in several Nikka blends). Ginger. It’s a little bizarre. With water: cleaner but, once again, no more complex. A lot of marzipan, just like in the 1992. More honey and putty as well as what the Berbers call ‘hamlou’ (almonds, honey and argan oil mixed together). Mouth (neat): Almost the same whisky as the 1992 when undiluted. Hard to pick out any differences, so let’s add water right away. With water: same. Sweet wood extracts… Mashed chestnuts.
Finish: Same as the 1992.
Comments: Once again, it’s very good spirit, perfectly made, but I am not into grain: too many taste the same. It’s a bit boring … I’m sorry. SGP:530 - 79 points." (Serge`s scoring system is explained on this page.)

Alcohol
Abv 58 per cent

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Nikka Single Cask Coffey Grain 1992

Distillery
Nishinomiya

Review by Nonjatta contributor - Serge Valentin

Visit Serge`s website, the definitive Whiskyfun.com.

"Nikka Coffey Grain 1992/2007 (57%, OB, cask #116333, Warehouse #20)
Beginners may not know that ‘Coffey Grain’ and ‘coffee bean’ aren’t sort of the same thing. Coffey grain is grain whisky distilled in so called ‘Coffey stills’, named after Mr Aneas Coffey, an Irishman who invented this kind of continuous still around 1830. Colour: Gold.
Nose: Huuuge notes of vanilla and coconuts, then white chocolate, cut grass and nutmeg, with a faint soapiness. Needs water: less aggressive but not really more complex. Maybe a little more gingery and almondy, with also a little menthol. Mint-flavoured marzipan?
Mouth (neat): Hot and extremely fruity and vanillaed. Litres of coconut liqueur and quite some soft spices plus a little salt (straight from the oak). Good but rather one dimensional, as many grain whiskies are in my opinion. With water: the tannins come out, together with quite some pepper and kind of a grittiness.
Finish: Medium-long, sweet. Ginger, vanilla, coconut, tannins, white pepper. Comments: It is a pleasant and flawless spirit but I find most of these grain whiskies a little boring, with the oak doing all the work. Yawn… SGP:530 - 79 points." (Serge`s scoring system is explained on this page.)

Alcohol
Abv 57 per cent

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Hibiki 12 in Europe

Nick Sikorski at La Maison du Whisky says the new Hibiki 12 has arrived in Paris and is ready for sale.

It occurs to me that Nonjatta's current review is by one of the men who will be selling it in Europe so if anyone else want to add their impressions, they will be appreciated (just stick them in the comments or send them to me at japanesewhisky at gmail.com). That is not meant to imply that Nick's notes are anything but absolutely honest. We have only met very briefly but Nick's thorough knowledge of Japan combined with his involvement with whisky mean he is one of the people whose opinions on Japanese whisky I would most carefully listen to.

One of the advantages of a blog like this, however, is we can get away from the authoritative monologue that whisky reviewing sometimes becomes. Send in your notes! Please! I can't get this stuff in Japan! In the meantime, David at the superb Irish Whiskey Notes (get that in your bookmarks/rss feeds if you don't have it there already) posted the following short note in Hibiki 12's comments: "Tried this tonight at a Suntory tasting. 'Light and refreshing' sums it up alright. I need more time with a whiskey to properly evaluate it but I reckon I'd choose a Yamazaki 10 year old over this Hibiki."

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Phenomenal oriental liquor vault

Not really Japanese whisky related but take a look at this collection in Hong Kong.

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