Japanese blended whisky is a simple marriage of malt and grain whisky, but it is also one of the most revered and respected styles of whisky made in the world. Not all Japanese whiskeys are blended, but despite the recent rise of interest in single malt whiskies, the vast majority of Japanese whisky made and sold is still blended. It’s a category with instantly recognisable whiskies like Hibiki Japanese Harmony, Nikka Whisky From The Barrel, Ichiro's Malt & Grain, and Toki.
The story of Japanese blended whisky goes back to the founding of Japanese whisky by Shinjiro Torii and Masataka Taketsuru. Torii founded Kotobukiya, which would later become Suntory and established the country’s first whisky distillery, Yamazaki, in 1923. Taketsuru, trained in Scotland, brought back the art of whisky making to Japan. But pre-1964, all Japanese blended whiskies were made not with grain whisky as defined in Scotland, but with 'blending alcohol', neutral spirits with little regulation. In 1964, Taketsuru brought a Coffey still over from Scotland and started making grain whisky and blended whisky followed with 'Black Nikka'. Grain distilleries Suntory's Chita Distillery and Kirin-Seagram's Fuji Gotemba Distillery were founded in 1973 and 'blending alcohol' was gradually phased out.
Japanese whisky doesn’t have the same spirit-swapping culture of Scotland, however, so you wouldn’t see the likes of Suntory and Nikka sharing their malt and grain to make blends. Instead, an emphasis developed on blending and using whiskies from around the world, mainly Scotland and Canada. That was an open secret in the drinks business, but in 2021, The Japan Spirits & Liqueurs Makers Association made headlines by outlining tighter regulations that, among other things stated that “saccharification, fermentation, and distillation must be carried out at a distillery in Japan” in order to be labelled as ‘Japanese whisky.’ Most of the world’s leading brands signed up to the rules by the deadline of 31 March 2024, which means these ‘world blends’ will cease to be so commonplace.
Instead, Japanese blended whisky will be largely made in-house, unless there is a significant culture change in the industry. As well as pulling whiskies from across the globe into blends, Japanese whisky has a long history of blends being made entirely from one producer. That means Suntory and Nikka, for example, distilling all the malt and grain themselves and their facilities or on a single site and then blending them in-house. In the aftermath of the new legislative changes, Fuji Gotemba Distillery rallied for the creation of an interesting new sub-category inspired by this practice: single-blended Japanese whisky. A successful application to the JSLMA seeking an amendment to the rules was backed with widespread approval from other brands.