They really have a fun selection of bottles here—great to have a bar like this in the neighborhood. Went with the son tonight, had some very nice drams and just kind of stared longingly at some bottles that were a bit out of our price range. Fun times. Will be back 😊
The King’s Own Whisky has left the building 😢
Mostly I’m here to brag about scoring this bottle, and getting it signed by Master Blender Adam Hannett at the Bruichladdich 25th Anniversary Event last week, but also I will point out that it is really, really good 😊
The beautiful peat and fruitiness of the spirit, then the layers of sweetness, oak, baking spices, and gingerbread from the casks… holy moly this is good stuff. Powerful, complex, layered and beautifully balanced—one of those whiskies that keeps pulling you back for “just one more dram”.
Gonna require some discipline to make this last more than a month 😂
Smells like… victory.
So 11AM and I’m out here drinking Octomore 17 at the Bruichladdich 25th Anniversary Event in Tokyo. Day drinking ftw! Will try to remember to post more photos later. 🥃 😋
Another visit to the Bic Liquor Store in Kichijoji for tastings and shopping (Taketsuru & Hakushu 12 at list price 🎉), then on to Shinanoya for some more shopping. A good day 🥃😋
OK, not entirely fair due to the wide gap in ABV (57.1% vs 43%), but given that the Solist Vinho Barrique is the less expensive bottle, maybe it is fair🤔
Yeah anyway, they are both fantastic, but the Vinho Barrique wins imho.
So this place is like a 10 minute walk from home, and I’ve had it marked as “want to go” in my Google maps for so long I forgot about it. But I finally paid a visit Saturday night.
Wowza, quite the amazing whisky lineup for a “neighborhood bar.” And they do half shots, so you can try a lot of different bottles without getting too blotto.
I failed to get a photo of the Chichibu Highlander Inn bottle I tried, so stole a photo of it from someone else’s ig (sorry).
Chill, old school “fancy bar” vibe, super knowledgeable master, fantastic collection of whiskies. Will definitely be back.
Going with a “musical pairing” tonight 🎸🎶🥃😍
I’m usually quite skeptical about gimmicky special editions, but this stuff is really good. Beautiful nose, silky mouthfeel, sweetness, farmy Bruichladdich distillate, red wine and bourbon oak notes, all so well balanced and integrated.
Sometimes gimmicks are aight 🤷♂️
Had a fun day of excessive shopping and excessive tastings in the area I am now going to refer to as the Ginza Bermuda Triangle of Whisk(e)y, whose outline is defined by the walking route from Bic Camera Yurakucho, to the Ginza 777 Liquor Mountain, to the Liquor Express shop, then back to the Campbelltoun Loch bar. OK, technically a quadrilateral. So sue me 🤷♂️
Fun times 🥃 😋
Another fantastic tasting run, and scored a bottle of Stagg Jr 🤩
My AI friends believe that is a Liberty Walk LB-Silhouette WORKS 458 GT body kit, but such knowledge is above my pay grade, so I don’t really know 🤷♂️
Girl is aight, imho.
Benriach version to follow…
So apparently Douglas Laing’s introduction of Big Peat can highballs to the Japan market last year went really well, so they’re back for round two, and even smokier this time. Like comically smoky. But I actually like this one better than the first round since it’s so over-the-top smoky you can’t help but laugh.
🥃💨🤣
So for those of you keeping track of such things, today marked the beginning of 立秋 (risshū), the “Autumn Begins” phase of the traditional Japanese 24-phase seasonal calendar, which provides the base for Akkeshi’s edition names.
So I’m enjoying some 2025 立秋 whisky to celebrate the start of 2026’s 立秋 season. But going with a highball because as much as the calendar claims Autumn is beginning, it’s still 30C at night and humid asf.
Special Guests for the evening: Laphroaig and Springbank Cheddar Cheeses. 🥃 🧀 😋
Recently received this bottle as a gift from a friend who has consequently moved up many positions in my friends ranking list 🤣
I think I like the Green Leaf (Double Distilleries) better, but they are both very fine whiskies. That Ichiro fella knows what he’s doing.
Yeah OK I’m just bragging that I managed to buy all these at MSRP, but in celebration of that, I’m doing a side-by-side tasting of three of my favorite whiskies because I deserve it or something.
Starting with an Orchard House highball to cool off after walking 45 min+ in the outdoor steam sauna that is Tokyo tonight. Then we’re gonna jump in the Milennium Falcon and go punch some Nazis… then I’ll try to come up with some equally lame dad joke about the Lochlea…
Sláinte mhath, live long and prosper, may the Ford be with you, etc 🥃 😋 🚀
So wifey & I went to a nice restaurant for dinner, and they had Hibiki Blender’s Choice on the menu, so I tried it for the first time and quite liked it (the nose especially is heavenly). On the walk back home, we swing by one of my favorite liquor stores where we’re friendly with the manager. As I’m checking out the AD Rattray bottle, I mention to him that I’d just tried the Blender’s Choice and he says “we have that in the back if you want a bottle”, and they sell it at MSRP (¥16,000 / US$100) so I ask him to get me a bottle. As he’s handing it to me he says “we keep most of the Suntory stuff in the back,” so I ask if they have Yamazaki 12 back there, and they do, so he goes back to get me a bottle of that (also ¥16,000). When he brings it out he says “we also have this if you’re interested,” and shows me the Springbank 10, priced at ¥9,000 / US$55 😳
Can’t believe I got all 3 at MSRP when I thought I was just picking up the AD Rattray lol. Lucky night.
ngl, one of my favorite whiskies ever
Have been meaning to visit this place forever, and finally made it. Yes, it is cramped, the stools are tiny and hard, the staircase is hard to navigate without climbing equipment even when sober, and the spelling is wack… but holy moly what a collection of unique bottles they have here. The Springbank 12 was Batch 15, the Bruichladdich Black Art was 4.1, and those were relatively recent, common bottles. Prices are very reasonable and you can do 15ml half-shots to cover more territory. We spent less that $100 and got to try some really nice whisky. Highly recommended for whisky nerds if you’re in the neighborhood. Perhaps the most interesting discovery of the night was that the Yamazaki Peated Malt Spanish Oak tastes like a Kavalan 🤷♂️ Anyway, fun times.