¡°People assume Japanese whisky is just a copy of Scottish whisky,¡± says author Brian Ashcraft when I meet him in a specialist Japanese whisky bar on a rainy Osaka day. ¡°But it is its own thing. It has its own tradition and culture. Early on when they first started distilling, they knew they were making Japanese whisky. I don¡¯t think they thought they were making Scottish whisky.¡±
Certainly, the recipe and techniques may have originated in Scotland, but that doesn¡¯t make the drink produced by Yamazaki or Nikka any more Scottish than Kirin beer is German or Californian wine is French. As with alcohol from any country, the taste echoes ¡°the baseline flavors they have here,¡± says Ashcraft. ¡°I think subconsciously that informs all the flavors in Japanese whisky.¡±
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