Tenjaku Blended Japanese Whisky

let’s begin

Another new competitor on the Japanese whisky market, Tenjaku Whisky is embracing the world’s (somewhat) new found adoration for Japanese blends.

Growing pains

The world is falling in love with whisky. If you haven’t noticed, there is something of a boom in the whisky market right now, with all regions experiencing an increase in demand. New distilleries and brands are popping up everywhere, with almost every “entrepreneur” giving distilling a go. Some of these brands are great, some not so great.

Japan is seeing whisky sales go through the roof, which is causing some interesting issues. While it’s brilliant that people are embracing whisky and we’re getting some excellent creations to set brands apart, it’s also caused a major whisky shortage for some of Japan’s biggest brands. This has meant the discontinuation of some excellent whiskies, including the Hibiki 17 Year Old and the Hakushu 12 Year Old.

However, on the flip side, Japan is also seeing new brands enter the market with some really stellar whiskies. Japan has a long and intriguing history of distilling but the international Japanese whisky market has long been dominated by Suntory and Nikka. Now we are seeing new and exciting Japanese distillers appear.

Tenjaku

Tenjaku Whisky is one of those. They are a relatively new brand to the Japanese whisky market and have really taken off, especially in America. They have Kenji Watanabe on their team, who has been involved in distilling and wine making since the 1990s. He is incredibly well known within Japan for his distilling skills and as Master Blender at Tenjaku, he has created some excellent drams.

Tasting notes for Tenjaku Blended Japanese Whisky

Bottle cost: £24.13

One of his best creations so far is the Tenjaku Blend. It takes inspiration from the skylark, a symbolic bird in Japan, and captures all the key flavours of good Japanese whisky.

The nose begins with lots of sweetness and a hint of smoke. It has a note of crisp pears and tart raisins, which really bring it to life.

The palate is full of oak, vanilla and light floral notes. More dried fruit comes through and a delicate nod towards smoke.

The finish is long and lingers on oak and vanilla sweetness.

This is a great blended whisky from Tenjaku and introduces a genuine competitor to some of the more well established Japanese brands. Watanabe has certainly made his mark with this one.

Have you enjoyed Tenjaku Blended Whisky? Let us know in the comments!

Tags: Blended Japanese WhiskyJapanese blendsTenjakuTenjaku Whisky

Greg

My name is Greg, and I’m a brand strategy consultant, writer, speaker, host and judge specialising in premium spirits. My mission is to experience, share and inspire with everything great about whisky, whiskey, gin, beer and fine dining through my writing, my brand building and my whisky tastings.