Video

How do you feel the “on the way” compares to the 2022 or 2018 peated?

Brilliant !

Great video Mac!

Yeh Mac I can’t wait to hear all the B S get cleared up a bit more! 😕 🥃👍🏻

Is The Yamazaki a good whiskey? I got the 12 year 50ml sample for a buddy back in the states

Clear, logical, unbiased, entertaining. Excellent as usual.

Did you say you were at a Costco in San Leandro? I live in Half Moon Bay, 23 miles away. If you’re ever in the San Francisco Bay Area again let me know!

Another excellent video, Mac. Even if I'm not sure pedestalisation is in anyone else's dictionary. Kanpai/ Sainte!

A great video Mac, as always incredibly informative. I must admit I completely believed the myth no 1 to be true and I'm surprised and a bit sad to find out that it's busted!

I discovered Japanese whisky before it became popular. Many years ago, I saw a bottle of 18-year-old single malt whisky sitting on the shelf at a BevMo in southern California. It was about $60, and big brand 18-year single malt Scotch was usually around $120 at the time, so I figured that I might as well try it. It was a very good whisky, and I found it to be comparable in quality to big brand 18-year Scotch, or possibly a little better. This whisky was Yamazaki 18-year. It was a bargain at $60. Had I known that Japanese whisky was about to blow up in popularity, I would have bought this stuff by the case, kept a few bottles for myself, and flipped the rest after the secondary market price rose to $1000. Now that the price has shot through the roof and it has become hard to get, it is no longer worth it. If I want a smooth, inoffensive, low strength 18-year single malt, Scotland provides plenty of options that are comparable in quality, and many are still available for under $200. My taste has since moved on to the more difficult, hard core styles of whisky. I now look for at least 46% ABV, preferably non-chill filtered, single malts that pack a punch. It's even better if it is cask strength, with the intense concentration of flavor that comes with that. Japan produces some whiskies that meet these standards, both in real Japanese distillate and world blends, but the big ones that drive everybody crazy are too smooth and easy going for my taste. It would be nice if Yamazaki 18 was still a bargain, and I would even take Yamazaki 12 if it weren't also overpriced. Though Yamazaki is not the style that I seek out for serious whisky guzzling, I like to have a few bottles of high quality, smooth, lower strength whisky around for use as warm-up pours before I get into the cask strength firewater and for visitors who aren't used to the difficult stuff. Yamazaki would be perfect for this if not for the exorbitant cost. Green Spot is perfect for this too, and it doesn't cost a bloody fortune, so I bought a bottle. If I could somehow get my hands on a cask strength, non-chill filtered Yamazaki, then I would get excited, but I don't even know if such a thing exists. If it does, I hate to imagine what it costs.

Hey Mac. Just watched you live on Vin's round table. You're a good Moderator. Thank you! I'm still looking for my first Japanese Whisky.... Liebe Grüße. Arno

My favourite whisky CZcamsr is back! Always look forward to your videos Mac. I remember going to M Whisky in Ginza last year and being blown away not only by the selection but the prices - they are WAY beyond RRP or even what they go for in the secondary market at auction. Great eye candy, but I never thought about reaching for my wallet once. Very true about the scarcity of affordable Japanese whisky in Japan. Anyone who goes to Japan hoping to get an age statement Japanese whisky at a reasonable price is definitely in for a shock (exception of maybe duty free at Narita airport). Every bottle I saw for sale was well in excess of the secondary auction price - so do yourself a favour and get it at auction if you really need a bottle. If nothing else, there are some good opportunities to TRY these unicorn whiskies at reasonable prices at various bars. Really is a shame that the hype train for Japanese whiskies the last decade has pushed prices far beyond what the bottles are actually worth and means many will only ever sit on shelves as a statement piece rather than being opened and enjoyed.

Mythbusting of the highest magnitude

Thanks Mac. As always informative and entertaining. Cheers!

For Myth number 2 I noticed this a lot with Total Wine & More. So the tl;dr is the store I work at got bought out by Total Wine and I noticed they had a few of their own Spirit Direct Japanese whisky. This was exciting, but I found that almost all of it was either, like you said, exported from Scotland and bottled in Japan. Or was actually Shochu. A couple of them are actually good, but I wish there was definitely more transparency in regards to what is "japanese whisky"

Well done

Spread the truth to the world! Keep it going Mac! Yu

K&L Wine in California recently has Hakushu 18 for $700usd, which I guess these days is reasonable? 😅 Cheers Mac

Great one, Mac! I wonder when Indian whisky will join "the world's top 6?"

Great content as always. Thanks for sharing Mac. Slàinte mhath / Kanpai

Hello new viewer, I have interest in getting into the spirit business from a quality assurance perspective working with the farmers who produce commodities used to produce whiskeys and other alcohols. Would you have any advice on where to start as a means to get into the business for someone with , an agriculture production background

What an excellent video. Really informative and entertaining. You didn't mention if you could pick up these bottles at the distilleries? Do some, many or most distilleries in Japan even have distillery shops or visitors' centres?

with the current exchange rate, i was able to find a bar with Hibiki 21yr, they have to sell at retail i think. So $25 shots, which means a bottle would be $550 in shots!

I recently bought Masahiro 12 Year and it clearly states that it is made in Japan with malts from around the world. Does not say Japanese Whisky.

Hi Mac, a good honest video, enjoyed watching it. Shame but I think Japanese whisky is pricing itself out of the market. A lot of competition out there. Slàinte Mac😁

So true that my trips to Japan get more fulfilling when i am able to find Japanese whiskies at RRP! One of my favourite memories was finding a bottle of Miyagikyo NAS in a 7-11 for 4800 yen. Lol.

Well in 2024 japanese whiskey is way more expensive then just 2-3 years ago! Here in Norway hibiki harmony was 900nok ( 85 euroes ish) now it's more like 1400 nok!!! ( 130 euroes)

Speaking as an American, I think the reason why Japanese Whiskey has such a great reputation is because there isn't a bottom shelf Japanese Whiskey on sale in the U.S. The Cheapest Japanese whiskey you can get is 35 bucks. You can Find Bourbon, Canadian Whiskey and European whiskey for under 10 bucks and it's not a quality product.

So true. Armandrinksss

Brilliant busting Mac! Aint afraid of no malt.

Seems that puncy prices are all over the world. Nice video as always.

where can I buy it in Tokyo?

Little late to this video ,but had to comment.This is the whisky I give people to try that say they don't like whisky,and it always changes their minds. Also does anyone else ever pick up the flavour of pink rose water Turkish delight at the end of this one,I always do.

Great Video, informative and entertaining.🎉

This can now be bought in Israel. Prices are on average about 500 Shekels (about £100). It is not approved for the strictly kosher consumer as (as you say) it does contain some wine cask maturation.

Great sneak preview, Mac!

Sounds delicious Mac but it'll be very hard to find for us I'm assuming. Maybe at London in September let's see.

Wow what a video! You get medical info, sake history, 2 different spirit reviews, cocktails and food! Thanks guys, absolute delight to watch!

Brilliant video Mac, thanks so much for the information. I always learn a lot from your videos. Kanpai 🥃

Thanks for unique content!❤

Amazing interview Mac! Appreciate your honesty! Thanks for the front row seat for the tasting of the new OTW !

Sounds like a great one.

I liked it too. Armandrinksss

Wow 😮I hope it’s bloody good Mac for the price point too!!! 😊✌🏻

very interestingly that when a week before you released your last video on the red wine cask I bought my first chichibu. And a week ago before you released this video, it happened I bought my second bottle of chichibu, the 2022 peated 😆 really want to see someday if I can buy this On the way 2024 at a reasonable price 😊