I was wandering the night streets of Kichijoji and stepped into a bar, but the whisky list was nothing special. So I asked the owner, and he recommended Bar Fort.

I asked for some Japanese whisky recommendations, and out came these three glasses.

Famous whiskies that anyone would know by name.

So which whiskies were they..

Ichiro’s Malt, Chichibu Matsuri, and an old bottle of Suntory Yamazaki 12 Year Old. Ichiro’s Malt carries such a premium these days that it can go for several million won. Chichibu Matsuri had only just come out, but the reviews were so good that you could not buy it at regular retail. And an old bottle of Yamazaki 12 is simply impossible to find now. All three were delicious. The Matsuri in particular made me think I absolutely have to get hold of one next year, and the Yamazaki made me feel like this is what real Yamazaki tastes like.

And of course, a legendary bottle: the Dance series Mortlach

They had quite a lot of legendary bottles left.. but being bottles opened years ago, they had lost all their strength..

A Karuizawa whisky served as a sample

This is another legendary bottle, and one sip tells you why Karuizawa is so popular. Delicious in a classic, straight-down-the-middle way.

Lagavulin 25 Year Old, 200th anniversary bottling

This one was released at around a million won and now sells for around two million, an ultra-rare whisky. There were rumors it was the whisky of the year, so I ordered a glass, but the taste.. was nothing much.. the aroma and flavor had all evaporated, leaving only a trace behind, so to speak..

When I asked to see some Littlemill, these are the bottles they showed me.

I knew a bit about the OMC (Old Malt Cask) on the far left, so I ordered that.. but it had no strength left at all. With old bottles you should order one that still has plenty left in it, but I did not know that at the time.

A martini too..

Anyway, I was on a high after drinking such delicious Japanese whisky.

One last bowl before heading home

Not bad.

Gyoza too!

I thought I would burst.. and on top of that I took a taxi all the way home, which felt like such a waste of money. Kichijoji is just too far, so next time we should meet up somewhere near my place.

한국어로 읽기日本語で読む