8 June 2016
This was our last day in Kyoto, Japan before flying home late in the evening. To round off what was an enjoyable 16 days in Central Japan, we made a visit to the Suntory Yamazaki Distillery, located at the town of Yamazaki of course.
We signed up for the paid tour of the distillery prior to our visit. The tour included viewing of production process and tasting of the whiskeys. More details of the distillery and reservations for the tour and visit can be found here. The tour would be conducted in Japanese language tour but this was not a show stopper. Audio guides describing the production process is available in English, Chinese and French.
Using our rail pass, we took the JR train from the Kyoto Station to the JR Yamazaki Station.
The distillery is located about 10 minutes on foot from JR Yamazaki Station and was well signposted.
We arrived earlier than the stipulated 15 minutes prior arrival time, so we had to kill some time taking photos of the premises while waiting for the office to open. Right on the dot, the office opened and started to process the reservations. Passes and audio guides were issued and instructions on where to assemble were given.
The tour group was quite large, consisted of mostly Japanese visitors and a few foreigners like us.
The tour started right at the whiskey museum. Photography was allowed but we were not to take any photos of the staff (for privacy reasons) and also no video recordings were permitted. The tour leader introduced himself and the company. Yamazaki was the birthplace of Japanese whiskey and founder of Suntory was Shinjiro Torii. He wanted to create a perfect whiskey that reflects the nature of Japan and spirit of Japanese craftsmanship and the area around Yamazaki was perfect for its high quality waters and natural environment.
The tour leader for our tour was a cheerful young man and was an excellent presenter. Although he spoke in Japanese, he made it a point to maintain eye contact with all visitors and try to inject a few sentences of English to emphasize key points knowing that there were some foreigners in the group. At each station of the tour, he would remind us to use the audio guide and which buttons to press to get the correct language interpretation of what he was presenting.
In 2003, the Yamazaki 12 Years single malt whiskey produced at this distillery became the first Japanese whiskey to win the gold medal at the International Spirits Challenge. Later the Hakushu 12 Years single malt also won several awards.
After a briefing of the history of Japanese whiskey and Yamazaki distillery, we were led to another building to see the production process.
Malt whiskey is made from barley and water. The barley grains are made to germinate by soaking in water, and are then halted from germinating further by drying to produce malt.
The malt are then finely ground and mixed with water. The liquid combination of malt and water is called the 'mash'. It is put into a large vessel called a mash tun and stirred for several hours.
Enzymes in the malt break down the starch into sugar. The mixture is then filtered to obtain clear unclouded wort.
The filtered wort is transferred to the wooden and stainless steel washback and yeast is added. The yeast converts the sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide while generating the flavour components that defines whiskey. The fermented liquid that results from this process is called wash. The flavours in the whiskey depended on the type of yeast used, conditions which it was fermented.
We were then brought into another area where we can see the distillation. The wash produced during fermentation is transferred to pot stills to undergo the distillation process twice, which results in a liquid with high alcohol concentration called the “new make”. At Suntory, we saw a variety of pot stills in different shapes and sizes. This affects the flavours that would be brought out in the whiskies. As we walked through the production area, a nice aroma filled the air, probably that of alcohol.
The new make is then placed in casks where they will slowly age and mature. The tour group was shown how the wooden casks were made at the entrance of the warehouse.
The aging process was explained to us. Wood is porous, so over time it will breathe in air from the surrounding environment in which it is stored. This will also give the whisky some unique characteristics.
During the aging process, alcohol is slowly lost through evaporation and the older whiskey usually has lower alcohol content. In the photo above, the cask on the right is newer whiskey with lighter colour while the old on the left is an older whiskey.
The tour leader then led the group into the warehouse where we can see rows of whiskey casks.
It was nice to be able to walk through the casks. The storage area is pretty cool, with the environment properly controlled.
The size, shape, material and storage location of the casks or even climate of the region can result in the “new make” maturing differently. Hence, the whiskey making process from malting, mashing, fermentation and distillation through cask maturation can result in whiskeys with distinctive flavours.
The last stage in whiskey production is vatting and blending. Expert blenders will select whiskies that will best be vatted into a final product. These guys taste up to 200 or 300 types of whiskies day! They have to predict when each cask will be at its best and when it should be used. Whiskey making took years and it is important to forecast what kind of whiskies would be needed in the future and how much to produce.
After the highly educational tour of the production area, we were led through an open area where the guide explained the secret behind Yamazaki’s whiskies. Good water and natural environment.
Finally, the “best” part of the tour, the tasting of Yamazaki’s whiskies! The tasting room has rows of tables and we were seated in our little groups.
Each person is given 4 glasses of whiskies. The tour leader went on stage and introduced each one in turn, explaining its flavours and how to enjoy it. This was again quite educational. Whiskey tasting process is very similar to tasting wine.
1. View the colour - It ranges from gold to yellowish.
2. Swill the whiskey in the glass and then sniff the aroma - Should be able to scent cherry, strawberry or oak.
3. Dilute with water and then taste the whiskey - Should be able to taste flavours like raspberry or white peach. There could also be some lingering after taste like vanilla in some cases.
How to enjoy whiskey.
1. Whiskey and soda (Highball) – Fill glass to the brim with ice. Add whiskey and stir. Add soda (1 part whiskey, 3 parts soda). Stir once.
2. Whiskey and Natural Spring Water – Fill glass to the brim with ice. Add whiskey and stir. Add natural mineral water (1 part whiskey, 2 to 2.5 parts water). Stir gently.
3. On the Rocks – add whiskey to ice and stir gently.
4. Twice up – Add whiskey and equal amount of natural mineral water at room temperature.
5. Half Rock – Add a large chunk of ice to a glass. Add whiskey and then stir to chill. Then equal amount of natural mineral water and stir again gently.
6 Straight – Fill a third to a half a glass with whiskey. Prepare a separate glass with iced natural water as a chaser.
The whiskey tasting was very well conducted. Bottles of soda, natural mineral water and plenty of ice for us to try the above. Even a small basket containing a variety of chocolates, nuts and crackers were even provided for us to enjoy our whiskies with.
Some of us were a bit “high” after the tasting. We were then free to explore the whiskey museum and also the whiskey library.
There is a tasting counter at the library where visitors can buy and sample rare malt whiskies, grain whiskies and limited-edition bottles of whiskey. We gave this a miss as we are still novice when it comes to appreciating whiskey.
The gift shop was interesting. There was a large range of original distillery goods, whiskies and even snack foods that go well with whisky. A few more bottles to add to our luggage!
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