How exactly is a Japanese whisky different from any other? What defines it? What makes it indisputably Japanese? Those are questions which Dave Broom has been wrestling with for decades. This session is a chance to explore those questions in the glass with two of Japan’s leading whisky makers.

This masterclass began in the immaculate grounds of the Zen temples of Kita-Kamakura, with a conversation between Dave, the UK’s leading expert on Japanese whisky, and Jota Tanaka, master blender at the Fuji-Gotemba distillery. In those tranquil, thoughtful, contemplative spaces, their conversation turned to what principles shaped and underpinned Japanese whisky. 

Subtraction is one notion: that by whittling away the unnecessary elements of a spirit, we might come to a truer expression of the whisky. Transparency and clarity are another. The idea that by stripping away more trivial parts, the beautiful core of the whisky might be more easily and enjoyably glimpsed, like a clarified, concentrated broth. 

For Shinji Fukuyo, master blender at Suntory, his definition of Japanese whisky is guided by  “character” and “essence”.  The principle of “character” is the fixed nature of a distillery, its location, its equipment, its raw materials. “Essence,” on the other hand, is how those fixed elements can be used to create a whisky that is a true expression of character. 

What that looks and tastes like is something we will explore through six curated whiskies.