This Japanese whiskey was introduced to the U.S. last year, and the initial shipment of 600 cases sold out in five months.
The back story When it comes to Japanese whisky, the world seemingly can’t get enough. Exports soared to $373 million in 2021 — an 18-fold increase over the past decade, according to figures from Japanese officials. The U.S. remains one of the biggest markets for the product, which is often compared to Scotch in its flavor profile. Around $50 million of the Japanese spirit was exported to the U.S. in 2020.
Though the spirit is made in Japan, it honors a Japanese man who made his mark largely in the U.S. — one Jokichi Takamine . He came up with the process of using koji fermentation, which is common in the production of sake and other rice products, and applying it to whisky to give it a decidedly different flavor profile.
Jump ahead several decades for the next chapter. In 2019, Stephen Lyman and Christopher Pelligrini, two spirits-savvy American ex-pats living in Japan, learned that a Japanese distillery had revived Takamine’s koji-fermentation process. That led them to work on bringing the spirit to the U.S.: “Once I learned the story , I was just blown away,” says Lyman. Thus, Takamine Whiskey, as they decided to call it, came to America.