[Single malt whiskey heaven, Japan]

Vol.1

What kind of liquor goes with a cigar?

When I drank it, I came to the conclusion that a lot of different types of sake would go well.
Most movies have brandy.
I also like brandy the best.
But I don't like the famous brandy these days.
There are various reasons, but I won't touch on them now.
Old brandy is delicious but quite expensive to drink at the bar.
Even if you decide to go to a liquor store and buy it yourself, it is difficult to decide which one to choose.
Some of the brandy I drank at the bar was hard for the bartender to find, and I didn't put it in the liquor store in the city.
In that respect, single malt is easier to find.
And I think cigars and single malts go pretty well together, of course, depending on how they fit together.

Single malt is booming.

You may hear the word single malt on TV commercials for whiskey.
For example, the small distillery Edra Dawa became famous for TV commercials of Mitsubishi Securities, which has nothing to do with alcohol.
People who know single malt know it, and those who don't know it.
Commonly known whiskeys such as Johnnie Walker red and black, and blue, Shivas Regal, Old Parr, Cutty Sark,

Ballantine's and other widely consumed whiskeys are called blended whiskeys.
It is aged by blending various single malts with grain whiskey made from different ingredients.

A single malt is a whiskey made by adding yeast to barley and distilling it in a single distillery.

For example, Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, McCarran, maybe a hotel bar or a street bar.
Single malts are probably less than 10 percent of overall whiskey sales.
I can't say anything because I don't have accurate materials, but the point is minor whiskey.
So it's not really a boom.
Nevertheless, there is a reason to call it a boom.
Japan's single malt market is, in some respects, the best in the world.
I heard this from various people.

An American who has been in Japan for over 20 years and is extremely familiar with whiskey says.

"If I drink this much single malt in Japan, I don't like it when I go back to the United States.

There are countless bars in Tokyo with over 100 types of single malts, but few in the United States.

There aren't many in London either. "
Certainly, even in London, I didn't see many single malts.
As I wrote before, even the world-class Grand Hotel Clarize has a small selection of single malts.
Why is single malt so popular in Japan?
I'm not sure about the historical background, but maybe it's because the bartender started to stock various whiskeys as a maniac.

[Single malt whiskey heaven, Japan]
Vol.2

A new wave of single malt whiskey

I haven't seen you for a long time.
I had a little job, so I was so busy that I couldn't write because I was tired even though I had time to write.
I mean, I just skipped it.

There has been an interesting event recently regarding single malts.

Single malts, for example, are heavily focused on selling their own brand and distillery whiskey under the umbrella of Scotland.
You can see it by looking at the train advertisement.
It's safe to say that the word single malt has become more popular with the general public.
That said, there are probably at most 20 types of single malts available at regular bars (both hotels and streets).

The only bars I go to enjoy cigars are those that are very liquor-focused.

The assortment of those bars, especially single malts, is not odd.

It is the world's leading Japanese bar. (This is the next theme)
But these bars are special. Generally, not many single malts are visible.
Mainly blended whiskey, Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, Glenmorangie, McCarran, in single malt

Laphroaig and Talisker are quite popular.
The whiskey in the basement of the department store is mainly blended whiskey such as Old Parr, Shivas Regal, Johnnie Walker, etc.

There are few single malts. There are many places where there are only a few types.

However, something surprising happened recently.

It is the basement of Isetan.
Isetan has been frequented since the new building was renewed. I mean, I've been using it for a long time.
The basement of the Isetan main building was renewed and a bar was created. it's amazing.
The bar has only 4 seats, but you can drink whiskey from 2 pm. Moreover, the whiskey that is available is amazing.
There are dozens of distilleries selling a variety of whiskeys, some of which are cheap to drink at the bar.
The point is that they will take the money to sample the whiskey they sell.
It gives you 1/23 of the price of a bottle, that is, the amount you get in a single shot at the bar, without any fees.

Shot prices are tripled at regular bars.

It feels twice as cheap and four times as expensive.
Besides, the charge is 2,000 yen when the charge is high from 500 yen.
It is overwhelmingly cheaper than that.
For example, if you want to drink whiskey for 6,900 yen in a bottle at an ordinary bar. 300 yen per cup.
If the whiskey is about 900 yen or 900 yen, it is often rounded up to 1,000 yen.
If the charge is 500 yen, it will be 1,500 yen. You can drink it here for 300 yen.
There are various whiskeys such as Aranguren, Glengrassa, Glen Grant, and Bowmore for 35 years.
In particular, Alain has various barrels of whiskey, so it is interesting to drink aged ones in champagne or wine barrels.
A gentle and soft whiskey that even beginners can enjoy. Besides, it is cheap.
I think it's a little unsatisfactory for those who are used to drinking, but it is convenient because you can see the difference between barrels.

The staff also has experienced bartenders, so you can drink while listening to the explanation.

I've been bothered several times, but I came across the sight of two housewives who finished shopping, only one cup each, so they exchanged glasses with each other and asked for the next one.
Some people set up to go to the bar, but it's very easy to enjoy delicious whiskey here.
I'm glad that the department store makes such an attempt. It's hard to do at a liquor store in the city.
There are so many different types of single malts that visitors come to understand the differences in age and barrels.

Maybe you'll want to show up at more bars.

And while whiskey is certainly expensive at the bar, the atmosphere and the bartender's

You will find that it is worth paying for services.

After that, he became addicted to old bottled whiskey and closed distillery whiskey, which he called old bottles, as well as current products.
If the number of such people increases, the bar culture will be better understood.
And the number of enthusiasts who choose whiskey according to their own taste rather than brand orientation to choose whiskey by name has increased, and the boom where single malt was just made

It will spread as a fun luxury item rather than some core geeky ones .

Isetan's attempt may be the first step.

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