Quote:Scotland loses out as Japanese whisky named best in the world
For the first time, not a single Scottish whisky has made it into top five of World Whisky Bible


Winning whisky: Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013

By Leah Hyslop
10:37AM GMT 03 Nov 2014

The Scots are famous for their whisky, but will be licking their wounds this week after a Japanese single malt was named the best in the world.

Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013 was given the title by the 2015 World Whisky Bible, which is compiled by whisky expert Jim Murray.

He praised the whisky as “near indescribable genius”, with a “nose of exquisite boldness” and a finish of “light, teasing spice”, giving it an impressive 97.5 marks out of 100.

This year marks the first time in the book's 12-year history that a Japanese whisky has landed the title.To add insult to injury, not a single Scotch managed to make the final five shortlist.

The winning whisky comes from Japan’s oldest malt whisky distillery Yamazaki, which was established in 1923.

The drink, of which only 16,00 bottles have been made, is aged in Oloroso sherry butts for around 12 to 15 years, giving it what Murray called a “nutty, thick, dry [taste]… as rounded as a snooker ball”.

It beat two American rivals, the bourbon William Larue Weller and Sazerac Rye 18 Year Old, which took second and third place respectively.

Mr Murray said the high quality of Japanese and other international whiskies should be a “wake up call” for the Scottish industry.

He said that the the Yamazaki tipple was "a single malt which no Scotch can at the moment get anywhere near", and that after tasting over 1000 whiskies for the new edition, he was left wondering: “Where were the complex whiskies in the prime of their lives? Where were the blends which offered bewildering layers of depth?”

Kai Ivalo, of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, said that Japanese whiskies have gone from strength to strength in recent years, so award success was "inevitable and perhaps overdue".

He added that more and more people were becoming aware of whiskies from around the world. "This is probably related to the success of Scotch in recent years; people are become more adventurous and curious. They are discovering new experiences which lead them to try different styles of whisky, including whiskies from other countries.”

Whisky expert Sam Simmons said the Japanese whisky was a "stunning" drink and a worthy winner, but thought it was "balderdash" to decry the Scottish whisky industry as uninventive.

"The assumption from Murray’s statements is that Japanese whisky has an edge on Scotch because of a stronger vision or wilder innovation," he said. "But when it comes to innovations, like using local barley or local oak, there are precedents in Scotch in every case. So in what way is Japanese whisky’s success due to innovations that Scotch lacks? It is due to releasing top quality malt whiskies."

Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013 is available in specialist whisky shops and online for around £100.

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