Watch this killer Sammy Davis Jr. TV commercial for Suntory Whisky (1974)

Indeed. Several of these are on the top shelves of any self-respecting non-dive bar around here:

http://coolmaterial.com/feature/the-9-best-japanese-whiskies-available-in-the-u-s-and-the-best-one-that-isnt/

3 Likes

All the world loves a lover…

4 Likes

I love my Laphroaig and Lagavulin, but I got a bottle of Suntory Hibiki 12 as a gift that I’ve really been enjoying. No peat, no smokiness. It’s very light, complex and sweet, and reminds me of oranges and green apples. Japanese whiskey isn’t like anything else, but it’s really enjoyable as its own unique thing.

6 Likes

I don’t think Scotland is making sake - and for a very good reason.

1 Like

That’s the kind of thinking driving these vandals no doubt
http://www.scotsman.com/business/companies/vandals-threaten-to-scupper-scotland-s-first-sake-brewery-1-4161158

And anyway: whiskey isn’t Scottish solely. Scotland just happened to corner the market in the US.

4 Likes

Yeah, the thing is, when I’m at the liquor store, and there’s a huge display of Scotches and bourbons, Japanese Whiskey isn’t the first thing that grabs my eye.[quote=“Boundegar, post:24, topic:82773, full:true”]
I don’t think Scotland is making sake - and for a very good reason.
[/quote]

Oh, you mean because rice isn’t grown in Scotland? I will admit to turning up my nose at French vodka, but that’s because it’s overpriced bullshit. But whiskey is more of an art than vodka, and the Japanese are known for taking a product, making it their own, and then making it really good.

9 Likes

I love that commercial so much. From his rack of pipes to the way he douses himself in cologne and just sits in a chair to inhale his own aroma, it’s the manliest thing ever.

6 Likes

That is pure, unadulterated, 100 proof cool.

1 Like

Maybe you’re unaware but we have world class whisky here.

2 Likes

this reminds me of a story a friend of mine told - for his restaurant/hotel apprenticeship he had a course in German wine-growing districts. the lecturer said something like “and then there’s the lake of Constance. but you will never see the wine in your life as they guzzle it all by themselves”

4 Likes

Hmm… Japanese whiskys do get exported, you can buy them in the US, UK and Europe.

but not very often and rarely prominently. if someone sells wine from Baden it’s nearly always a product grown in the Rhine valley, not harvests from the less known vineyards in the same district.

whisk(e)y is similar, one has to know about Japanese products beforehand

3 Likes

Indeed. While I am not surprised there is japanese whiskey just never heard of any till now and I use to walk over to a teriyaki place that had a well stocked bar but they had no japanese whiskey that I ever noticed.
I will have to check the booze shops today when I am out for a walk as you would think Seattle would have some imported.

2 Likes

Several bartenders have told me how much Japanese business travelers who come to Tennessee love Jack Daniel’s.

I didn’t understand why before and now I’m really not sure.

2 Likes

Does the Swiss side make wine too? I’ve never heard of Swiss wine, but they’ve got half of the same lake so maybe it would be a good wine district for them.

1 Like

Swiss wine isn’t even half-bad, mostly grown in the southwest (cantons Vaud and Valais), but nearly never exported.

On the Swiss side of the lake are a few vineyards, but it’s afaik not an official wine district. The shore is one of the lower points in Switzerland, so most of the potential hillsides are facing north.

1 Like

Oh, yeah, good point!

1 Like

I found the geoinformation system of the canton Thurgau - a few small vineyards are actually near the shore of the lake, but most of the vines are planted in central Thurgau, around Weinfelden (kind of a duh!, literally translated the town is called Wine Fields)

2 Likes

This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.