Musings: Hattori Hanzō Katana-na-na-na

Quite frankly, you would have to have been living under a rock had you not heard about the Japanese Whisky revolution that has been sweeping the globe recently. I should also mention that the Japanese spelling of whisky is with no e, like Scotch, as opposed to Irish Whiskey, spelt with an e! If like me, you are not a particularly prolific taster of spirits, you may be a bit bewildered as to the substance behind it all. Whisky in general is experiencing such growth on the global market that it is seen as a surer bet than gold at the moment. A flashpoint in Japanese Whisky's ascent was when Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013 took the top honours in ultimate Whisky authority Jim Murray's "Whiskey Bible". Describing it as a work of "near indescribable genius, demand erupted. Recently the first edition of Yamazaki 50 Year Old Single Malt sold at auction in Hong Kong for over HK$1,000,000 (around AUD$150,000) - one industry expert wonderfully observed it as costing "the same as a Maserati". In Jim Murray's whisky bible of 2015, not a single scotch made that year's top 5.