Japanese Whisky on the Lower East Side
Japan had no legal definition of Japanese whisky until 2021, which is why bottles that never saw a Japanese still spent years on shelves labelled as though they had. The standard that exists now covers mashing, fermenting, distilling, ageing and bottling in Japan, with at least three years in wood. These are our notes on the bottles behind the bar, what they are made from and where they were actually made.
46 posts
- Jul 20, 2026Mars Iwai Natsu: Japanese Whisky Finished in Umeshu CasksA limited annual release from Mars Komagatake in Nagano: Iwai Tradition finished six months in Japanese plum wine casks, with a sweet-and-sour plum finish built for summer.
- Jul 12, 2026Plum Syndicate: Our New Summer Bourbon Cocktail With Umeshu, Yuzu, and Red ShisoA bourbon cocktail built for summer: Syndicate Hudson Region 845 bourbon, five-year-aged umeshu, yuzu, and red shiso concentrate.
- Jun 26, 2026The Tottori Ex-Bourbon Cask: Matsui's Spicier, Bolder BlendNew charred American oak and first-fill bourbon barrels pushed onto Matsui's fruit-forward house style. Non-chill filtered at 43%, proofed with Mount Daisen water.
- May 25, 2026Mars Iwai Sherry Cask: Pedro Ximénez-Finished Japanese WhiskyIwai Tradition finished over eleven months in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks, a limited US release of 540 bottles, and the richest whisky in the Mars Iwai range.
- May 19, 2026Kura The Whisky: Hokkaido Peat, Okinawan Malt, Japanese Rum CasksHelios in Nago is known for awamori. They've also been quietly making rum and malt whisky, and this pure malt is finished in their own rum casks.
- May 12, 2026Yu Courage: The Bushido Virtue, in a Mizunara CaskYu is the bushido virtue usually translated as courage, but it means something more specific than bravery. The whisky is aged in mizunara, and drinks soft.
- May 4, 2026Baladin Xyauyù Fumé: Smoky, Deep, and Not What You Expect from BeerAn Italian craft beer from Baladin built for peated-whisky drinkers: no carbonation, oxidative aging, and a bold smoky profile.
- Apr 20, 2026Mars Iwai Haru: Japanese Whisky Finished in Sakura CasksThe spring release from Mars Komagatake: Iwai Tradition finished six months in Japanese cherry blossom wood casks. Floral on the nose, brandy-like on the palate.
- Mar 17, 2026Mars Komagatake Single Malt: Japan's Mountain Whisky Now at JurakuA Japanese single malt from the Shinshu Distillery, the highest whisky distillery in Japan, at about 800 meters in the Japanese Alps.
- Feb 16, 2026Laphroaig Select: Five Cask Types, and the Gentlest Way Into IslayThe softest bottle Laphroaig makes, built from Oloroso butts, PX hogsheads, quarter casks, virgin American oak, and a measure of the 10 Year.
- Feb 10, 2026Ichiro's Malt & Grain: A World Blend Finished in ChichibuIchiro Akuto blends Japanese malt with Scotch, Irish, Canadian and American whisky, then ages the imported components again in Chichibu before bottling.
- Feb 2, 2026The Rest of the Syndicate Shelf: Founders Bourbon, Black Brim Gin, and a Rye VodkaWe already pour their Hudson Region 845 bourbon. Here is the rest of what Syndicate Distillers makes, and what a 70/21/9 mash bill actually does.
- Jan 27, 2026Hibiki Japanese Harmony: Three Distilleries, Five Casks, Twenty-Four FacetsSuntory's flagship blend draws malt from Yamazaki and Hakushu and grain from Chita, across five cask types including mizunara. The bottle has 24 sides for a reason.
- Jan 20, 2026Jim Beam Distiller's Masterpiece: The One Finished in PX SherryExtra-aged Kentucky straight bourbon at 100 proof, hand-selected by Fred Noe and finished in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks.
- Jan 9, 2026MUWA Bourbon Barrel Aged Junmai: The Sake for People Who Drink WhiskyAn 18% ABV junmai from Takara Sake USA in Berkeley, aged in bourbon barrels. Oak, baking spice, and vanilla over a rich rice base, and it takes heat beautifully.
- Jan 6, 2026Old Carter: The Couple Who Revived Kentucky Owl, Then Started OverMark and Sherri Carter blend very small batch straight bourbon at barrel strength, numbered rather than aged, so no two batches are the same.
- Dec 23, 2025Eagle Rare 10: The Buffalo Trace Bourbon That Kept Its Age StatementA low-rye Kentucky bourbon aged at least ten years and bottled at 90 proof, made at a distillery that has run continuously since Prohibition.
- Dec 12, 2025Mars Iwai Fuyu: Japanese Whisky Finished in Chestnut CasksThe winter release from Mars Komagatake: Iwai Tradition finished four months in Japanese chestnut casks. Brown sugar and maple on the nose, cacao on a long finish.
- Dec 9, 2025Nikka Coffey Grain and Coffey Malt: Taketsuru's Other Souvenir From ScotlandNikka runs two Coffey stills at Miyagikyo, imported in 1963 and 1966. One whisky is mostly corn, the other is 100% malted barley through the same still.
- Dec 2, 2025Ryujin Golden Dragon: A Whisky From a 16th-Century Sake BreweryRyujin Shuzo has been brewing sake in Gunma since the end of the 1500s, on a spring the brewery is named after. The whisky is mizunara-aged and comes in a dragon.
- Nov 25, 2025Immortal Clan: A Blended Scotch, and What Blended Scotch Actually IsBottled in Glasgow from malt and grain whisky. A good excuse to explain the category that most whisky in the world belongs to.
- Nov 18, 2025Suntory Toki Black: Peated Hakushu, and a Whisky Built for Listening BarsToki's first limited edition adds Hakushu Peated malt and Hakushu grain whisky to the blend, for a gentle smoke the standard Toki does not have.
- Nov 11, 2025Yamato Lady Tomoe and Takeda Armor: Mizunara Whisky With a Samurai Behind ItLady Tomoe is eight years in mizunara, named for the female samurai who commanded a thousand soldiers in the 13th century. Takeda Armor is its companion.
- Nov 7, 2025Mars Iwai Blue Label: The Japanese Whisky Named After Taketsuru's MentorA corn-forward blended Japanese whisky from Mars Komagatake in Nagano, aged in ex-bourbon barrels and named for Kiichiro Iwai, the man who sent Masataka Taketsuru to Scotland.
- Oct 28, 2025Sekk Sato Shiki: Rice Whisky From a 1905 Distillery, on a Still Nobody Else HasGrain grown in Miyazaki, distilled on a one-of-a-kind still designed in 1989, aged in casks from Japan's own cooperage. Four bottles, one closed loop.
- Oct 23, 2025Shinobu 10 Year Pure Malt: Mizunara Finish From a Niigata Beer BrewerShinobu Distillery got its whisky license in Niigata in 2017, founded by the man behind Niigata Beer. Malts from sherry, bourbon and hogshead casks, finished in Japanese oak.
- Oct 21, 2025Mars Komagatake IPA Cask Finish 2022: Whisky Finished in a Neighbor's Beer BarrelsBourbon-matured single malt from Japan's highest distillery, finished in IPA casks from the brewery down the road, bottled at 52%.
- Oct 14, 2025Kanosuke's Other Two: Hioki Pot Still and the 2023 Cask StrengthOne is distilled at the shochu distillery and matured at the whisky one. The other is 59% ABV, peated to 50 ppm, and aged partly in rice shochu casks.
- Sep 30, 2025Hinomaru 1st Edition, Port Cask and Sakura Cask: Three From KiuchiThe brewery behind Hitachino Nest has been making sake since 1823 and whisky since 2016. These three show what it does with wood.
- Sep 23, 2025The Hojicha Old Fashioned: A Seasonal Twist at Izakaya JurakuSato Shiki Single Grain Whisky, roasted hojicha tea, and a mist of Laphroaig 10-year Scotch. Our fall cocktail, now with subtle smoke.
- Sep 16, 2025Akashi Ume: Green Plums Steeped in Whisky Barrels Since 1679Eigashima has been distilling in Akashi since 1679. This one macerates fresh ume in barrels of matured Akashi whisky with rock sugar: umeshu logic, whisky base.
- Jun 18, 2025Kamet: An Indian Single Malt Named After a Himalayan PeakSix-row Indian barley, twice distilled in copper pots, matured across ex-bourbon, French oak wine casks and both Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry.
- Jun 4, 2025Cognac Park Borderies Mizunara: French Brandy Finished in Japanese OakA single-cru Borderies cognac from Maison Tessendier, finished six months in 500-liter mizunara casks. The one bottle on our list that is both French and Japanese.
- May 30, 2025Kanosuke IPA Cask Whisky Has Landed at Izakaya JurakuKanosuke Single Malt IPA Cask Finish Whisky from Kagoshima's Kanosuke Distillery, finished in barrels that once held Minami Satsuma IPA.
- May 6, 2025Ki One: Korea's First Craft Single Malt, Aged in OlorosoThree Societies distils forty minutes north of Seoul: Scottish know-how, Korean climate. Batch 3 spent over three years in Oloroso casks and took gold in 2024.
- Apr 23, 2025Kavalan: The Taiwanese Whisky That Ages Seven Times FasterKing Car started distilling in Yilan in 2005 and everyone said the subtropical climate would ruin it. It turned out to be the advantage.
- Apr 9, 2025Barrell Seagrass and Vantage: The Rye Kiyo Actually Likes, and His Favorite BourbonAn independent blender in Louisville finishing whiskey in Martinique rhum, Madeira, apricot brandy and mizunara. Try the Seagrass with Japanese apple juice.
- Mar 27, 2025Akkeshi Taisetsu: The Essence of Hokkaido's Winter in a GlassPart of Akkeshi Distillery's 24 Sekki series, Taisetsu (Great Snowfall) brings peat smoke, honey, and roasted chestnut in a whisky built like Hokkaido winter.
- Mar 11, 2025Suntory Whisky: A Legacy of Japanese Craftsmanship at Izakaya JurakuSuntory Toki and Yamazaki 12-Year anchor our signature highballs, tracing back to Shinjiro Torii's 1923 vision for a whisky suited to the Japanese palate.
- Mar 11, 2025Hakushu Whisky: A Taste of Japan's Mountainous Elegance at Izakaya JurakuDistilled deep in the Japanese Southern Alps since 1973, Hakushu is known for delicate smokiness and crisp minerality. We pour both the 12-Year and 18-Year.
- Mar 11, 2025Baladin Fumé: A Smoked Italian Craft Beer with Deep Character at Izakaya JurakuBaladin Fumé is a whisky-barrel-aged smoked beer from Italy's Baladin Brewery, layered with oak, peat, and caramelized malt. Here's why we pour it at Juraku.
- Mar 6, 2025The Two Scotches on Our List: Laphroaig 10 and Macallan 18An izakaya doesn't need a Scotch section. We keep two, at opposite ends of what Scotch does: one medicinal and smoky, one entirely sherried.
- Mar 3, 2025Yame Whisky: A Rare and Refined Japanese Whisky at Izakaya JurakuCrafted by the Kitaya Distillery in Fukuoka, Yame Whisky is the star of our Matcha Highball. We pour both the 10-Year and the 15-Year.
- Mar 3, 2025Syndicate Distillery's Bourbon and the Strawberry no Shinigami Cocktail at Izakaya JurakuA bourbon smash inspired by Bleach: Syndicate Distillery's Hudson Region 845 Bourbon mixed with yuzu, fresh strawberries, shiso leaf, and Japanese simple syrup.
- Mar 3, 2025Ohishi Whisky: A Unique Rice Whisky Experience at Izakaya JurakuOhishi Distillery, founded in 1872, makes whisky from Gohyakumangoku and mochi rice instead of barley. We pour their Islay Cask and Sherry Cask expressions.
- Mar 3, 2025Hinomaru Whisky: A Bold Expression of Japanese Craftsmanship at Izakaya JurakuCrafted by Kiuchi Distillery, the family-run house behind Hitachino Nest Beer, Hinomaru Whisky blends over 200 years of brewing expertise with Scottish whisky craftsmanship.