Japanese whiskey
Whiskey is probably the most "national" of all liquors: Scotch, Irish, American, Canadian and recently more and more popular Japanese whiskey. This genre is no longer classified as an imitation of Scottish style, but as something completely separate.
Closer to Scotland
Although Japanese whiskey is much more like Scotch than American bourbons, however, it is more than just an imitation of the original. Officially, whiskey distillation began in Japan in 1924 year. It was already visible then, that although it definitely took from the tradition of the best Scottish distilleries, Japanese whiskey will be something completely new. There is still a trait to this day, which clearly distinguishes Japanese whiskey from Scotch. It is about this, that here distilleries do not exchange their products among themselves. Because the vast majority of Japanese whiskey is intended for the production of blends, was to be expected, like the Scots, The Japanese will create blends between species from different distilleries, but nothing of the sort happened: each Japanese distillery has its permanent assortment.
Japanese whiskey production process
Japanese whiskey is a distillate of barley malt. It is very rare, that other grains may be malted, and if anything, it's rather just to create blends. The Japanese derived their own varieties of barley used in the production of whiskey, and the situation is not uncommon, that the various distilleries only use their own plant strains, as well as they use separate strains of distillery yeast for whiskey. The Japanese whiskey production process has been significantly modernized in relation to the production of Scotch. Here, grains and yeast are often the result of the work of genetic engineers, so the production efficiency of Japanese whiskey is high, Persistent whiskey yeast lines, but also perfectly adapted to the conditions of the technological line.
Some of the barley for whiskey is imported from outside Japan (a big part), however, unlike the current Scottish distilleries, who buy malt, The Japanese very often deal with malting themselves within their own distilleries. This allows you to maintain full control over the entire production process, and it is also a manifestation of common sense in the protection of property rights to a given variety of barley - since these are modified plants, they must be specially protected.
Japanese water
Of course, Japanese whiskey tastes different from American whiskey, and this is mainly because of the water. There are also clear differences between the different species of Scotch, that distilleries use different water intakes. Japanese, as a nation used to sterile cleanliness, they filter the water several times, and they only make whiskey from the purest, crystal clear water, thanks to which the drink acquires a deep taste and unique color, often surpassing the Scottish original in this respect.
Barley from Europe
The Japanese use the same variety of barley as the Scots - Golden Promise to produce whiskey. However, in Japan, in which there are regulations on the GMO market, this variety has been split into many different strains, most of which have an even higher starch content than the continental ones. However, while there are no regulations in the EU regarding the production of whiskey from modified barley, the Japanese tried to regulate the situation - although the use of GMOs is acceptable, the procedures for authorizing the use of a particular variety are already more complicated. However, one has to admit, that and genetic engineering, and strict control over it, Japanese Whiskey came out for good.
