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Editor's Note: Some months ago, our own Meyer Hurn submitted this article about Suntory Whisky, a bottle of which will be the prize at this week's Sunday Coffee.
Seeing as how the Sunday Coffee Lucky Draw is for a
bottle of Suntory whisky, I thought it appropriate to tell the story of this “Scotch".
I had the pleasure of attending a
launch/promotion of Suntory whisky which was hosted in the Kempinski Hotel here
in Dalian. The launch was well organized by the
Shanghai representative office of H-Line Ogilvy Communications
Company.
Suntory was the whisky
used in the movie, Lost in Translation, starring Bill Murray, who
goes to Tokyo to promote this Japanese whisky. As most of us
expats have probably experienced before, it is so easy to get something
"lost in translation" when living in Asia. The
company's whisky operation takes over 60 percent of Japan's market share,
and Suntory is as well known in Japan as Jack Daniels is in the
United States. Whisky, whether domestic or imported, is a very popular
drink among Japanese consumers, perhaps even more popular than Sake.
The
Japanese term 'Sake' can actually mean all types of alcohol in
general. Alcohol is much more socially accepted and exposed in public
compared to the United States; vending machines sell alcohol on the streets,
whisky advertisements are everywhere, and Bill Murray gets lost in translation
while making television commercials of the whisky.
The Japanese Shinjiro Torii was the first man to built
a distillery in 1923. His goal was to produce a whisky that goes well with
Japanese traditional food. He also sought for a steady balanced taste that
could not be broken by diluting it with water. As a result,
"Mizu-wari" became a common way of drinking whisky, "mizu" means
water and "wari" refers to "to cut" or "on the
rocks." Mizu-wari whiskies are usually taken with meals instead of before
or after a meal as is the custom in Western countries.
Because the Japanese learned whisky making from the Scots, it is spelled
'whisky' without an 'e' as in the Scottish way, unlike American bourbon whiskey
or Irish whiskey, spelt with an 'e', bar some
exceptions. Japanese whisky is unique in its continuous innovations
made on traditional whisky making, while Scottish/Irish whiskies are more
focused on keeping traditions as they are. For example, various different
shapes of “pot stills” are used in the distilling process, in order to utilize
their varied characteristics, such as the “bamboo filtering” method
to get a smoother, unique flavor. Suntory believes that good water,
good materials (carefully selected malt), and good climate for maturation are
the fundamentals of producing a good whisky.
The are several reasons
why it was decided to use Dalian as a launch pad for Suntory
whisky. Dalian has, as a portal city in northern China, high
potential in its economic development and market opportunity. Due to its
geographical and cultural similarity with Japan, Dalian attracts a great deal
of investment from Japanese corporations. This created an environment for
Dalian consumers to be more familiar with, and interested in Japanese culture
and products. Suntory has established good friendships with Dalian
local customers through years of communications. The company
believes that it's flagship product, the “Suntory Royal 12 years” whisky will attract people who
appreciates oriental aesthetics and its cultural background,
and believes that, in China as well as in Dalian, there are many
consumers who will enjoy this "smooth and deep" single malt
whisky. With the rapid growth of the spirit market in China, they
anticipate that whisky consumption will grow in Dalian as rapidly as
in other cities in China.
As a whisky drinker myself, I was pleasantly surprised by
this whisky. For most westerners, whisky is probably not the first thing
that comes to mind when thinking about Japan. The 12-year old one
has a spicy, though definitely not sharp, smoky, mellowy flavor to
it. It is a single malt, and certainly has most of the characteristics of
a whisky to it. "Afore ye go"... and wishing them all the
best with Suntory whisky here in Dalian.
Good luck and good drinking to the winner of this pleasant potion.
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abhijeet
jim
