1. Taketsuru Pure Malt –Winner of World’s Best Blended Malt and Best Japanese Blended Malt

| Read our review of the Taketsuru Pure Malt whisky here.

You can purchase a dram sample of Taketsuru Pure Malt here or buy the bottle on Master of Malt (ships internationally)

2. Ichiro’s Malt & Grain Blended Japanese Whisky Limited Edition 2023 – Winner of World’s Best Blended Limited Release and Best Japanese Blended Limited Release

Every year, Chichibu Distillery, helmed by Ichiro Akuto, rolls out an annual limited edition batch of its white label Malt & Grain bottling. This year, the 2023 limited edition cinched the title of Best Blended Limited Release, with prior annual editions having earned the same award multiple times previously. Ichiro’s Malt & Grain Blended Japanese Whisky Limited Edition 2023 is a blend of single malts from from Chichibu Distillery together with casks sourced from Japan by Ichiro Akuto.

| Read our distillery deep dive on how Chichibu Distillery came to be here.

3. Kirin Single Blended Japanese Whisky Fuji – Winner of Best Japanese Blended 

The Fuji Single Blended Japanese Whisky is the first single blended whisky of its kind formally recognised in Japan. Distilled by the Kirin-owned Fuji Gotemba distillery, this expression is a blend of malt and grain whiskies made at a single distillery. The ability to produce both malt and grain whiskies puts Fuji Distillery in rarefied air as the only such distillery in Japan, and only a handful worldwide. It’s a well-rounded and hefty expression with defined butterscotch and fruity flavors. 

| Read our reviews of five Fuji Whisky expressions, including the Single Blended Japanese Whiskey here.

You can buy the bottle from Asia Euro (ships to Singapore).

4. Hwayo X. Premium – Winner of World’s Best Grain and Best Korean Grain

The Hwayo X. Premium is a single grain whisky made from a short grain Japonica rice typically used to make soju, and distilled using pristine rock water from Yeoju province. The whisky was aged for 5 years in American oak barrels and finished for 6 months in an ongi, a Korean earthenware port traditionally used for fermentation.

The influence of techniques and ingredients from soju distillation in this whisky is unsurprising, considering that Hwayo initially began as a soju distillery before branching into whisky production. The term “Hwa” means fire and “yo” means nobility in Korean, reflecting a focus on honouring Korean’s long tradition of distillation through the production of rice whiskies.

5. Single Grain Whiskey Fuji – Winner of Best Japanese Grain

The Fuji Single Grain Whiskey is a blend of three different styles of grain whiskies, ranging from light type to medium and heavy type which are produced using different configurations of the Fuji Gotemba distillery’s unqiue grain distillation stills. According to Kirin, the use of corn, malted barley and rye for the various distillations, aged primarily in American Oak barrels, results in a “delicately fruity, mellow and multi-layered profile".

| Read our reviews of five Fuji Whisky expressions, including the Single Grain Japanese Whiskey.

You can buy the bottle from Asia Euro (ships to Singapore).

6. Yoichi 10 Years Old – Winner of Best Japanese Single Malt

The Yoichi 10 Year Old represents the first age-statement Yoichi to return to shelves for the first time in seven years. The Yoichi 10 was the flagship expression of the Yoichi distillery prior to its earlier discontinuation, and the re-released expression is said to carry the same balance of sweet fruity notes with peaty smokiness and rich oakiness. That said, the new release is chill-fileted unlike its predecessor. 

| Read our review of the Yoichi 10 Year Old (2022 Re-Release) here.

You can buy a bottle of the vintage Yoichi 10 from Master of Malt (ships internationally) or pick up a bottle from La Maison du Whisky in Singapore or Europe.

7. Thomson Whisky New Zealand South Island Peat Single Malt - Winner of Best New Zealand Single Malt

Thomson Whisky is a craft whisky distillery based in Auckland, New Zealand, started by a small team led by Master Distiller Mathew Thomson. The distillery’s limited release New Zealand South Island Peat Single Malt is made from 100% New Zealand grown malted barley, smoked using South Island Peat and distilled using Thomson Whisky’s own hand-beaten copper pot stills. According to the brand, this expression carries sweet notes of vanilla, toffee, paired with hints of wood smoke and iodine. 

| Read our head-to-head reviews of Thomson Distillery’s Manuka Wood Smoke Single Malt and Pinot Noir Cask Single Malt.

You can buy the bottle from Thomson Whisky (ships to New Zealand). 

8. Kavalan Solist Port Single Cask Strength - Winner of Best Taiwanese Single Cask Single Malt

The Kavalan Solist Port Single Cask Strength comes from the Taiwanese distillery’s premium Solist Cask Strength range. This expression features single malt whisky matured in Portuguese Port barriques under Taiwan’s subtropical climate, which offers a unique contrast of heat and humidity against sea and mountain breezes. The result, according to the brand, is ripe with notes of ripe plums, berries, and chocolate. Kavalan Distillery was responsible for establishing Taiwan as a bona-fide whisky-producing region in the Malt Whisky Yearbook, and has developed an expertise for working with wine-based casks. 

| Read our distillery dive on how Kavalan Distillery put Taiwan on the whisky map here.

You can pick one up specially selected by Singaporean independent bottler Malt, Grain & Cane here.

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Let us know which whiskies you'll be most excited to try!