In celebration of the 100th year of commercial production of Japanese whiskey, Las Vegas Magazine is honoring the country’s spirit by rounding up three top spots on the Strip that showcase the alcohol. In the last few decades, Japanese whiskey has become an in-demand drinking pleasure.
“Because of the lack of regulation with Japanese whiskey, you get brands customizing more and blending different woods in the barrels and grains and malts,” said Rob Capstraw, bar manager at Nobu at Caesars Palace, which has one of the largest collections of Japanese whiskies in Las Vegas.
Nobu Photo by: Christopher DeVargas
“I personally think there’s such a difference in styles that are available with Japanese whiskey, more than with Scotch whiskey, which can be heavy and peated. I feel like there’s a Japanese whiskey for everyone.”
Capstraw has helped amass a collection of more than 100 different selections, including some bottles that are no longer available for purchase and vintage, limited-edition selections. Some of the most rare, coveted bottles include the Karuizawa 1984 map series, Karuizawa 1999 Noh 13 Year Old mask series, both pouring for more than $1,000 per ounce.
More reasonably priced whiskies in Nobu’s collection include brands like Hibiki, Yamazaki and Hakushu. Nobu also spotlights Japanese whiskies in a couple of different cocktails, like one of the restaurant’s most popular, the Kunsei Old-Fashioned, made with Shibui whiskey and monk fruit simple syrup and finished with an applewood smoke.
Capstraw also says folks shouldn’t miss Nobu’s to-die-for whiskey dessert, the Whiskey Cappuccino, created with made-in-house ingredients. The four-layer dessert stacks a coffee custard base, chocolate coffee crumble and milk-flavored ice cream, all topped with an Iwai Japanese whiskey-flavored foam.
To dive further into the world of how Japan does whiskey, make a stop at Zuma at The Cosmopolitan. Besides the modern, izakaya-style Japanese cuisine, this restaurant prides itself in offering a wide variety of rare and different styles of Japanese whiskies. And recently Zuma got its hands on the highly sought-after Yamazaki Tsukuriwake 2022 limited-edition release, which features four special blends: Puncheon Single Malt, Spanish Oak Single Malt, Peated Malt Single Malt and Mizunara Single Malt.
“Each single malt is unique unto itself, with the Peated Malt having notes of subtle smoke with green herbs and a complex lingering peatiness to finish,” explained Josh Kougl, Zuma’s general manager. “The Puncheon Single Malt refers to the large cask size, which equates to approximately 480 liters, giving this whiskey hints of vanilla, acacia honey with a finish of oaky woodiness and subtle sweetness. The Spanish Oak Single Malt is aged in the highest-quality oak casks from the Northern Spain region, which gives this whiskey its rich, reddish amber hue, giving flavors of sun-dried raisins and prunes finished off with a buttery, lingering acidity.
“To finish off the series is the Mizunara Single Malt. Mizunara is a Japanese oak that is very difficult to work with and imparts incense-like flavors of sandalwood with a custard cream and cinnamon finish.”
Wakuda Photo by: Christopher DeVargas
Whether one prefers whiskies neat or in cocktails, Wakuda at The Venetian is a must-visit. Daniel Yang, the restaurant’s corporate mixologist, paid careful attention to picking out an impressive collection of Japanese whiskies in addition to creating three absolutely delicious specialty cocktails that use the spirit. Try the Cable Guy, with a choice of Japanese whiskey, fresh-pressed apple juice and Benedictine, or try the Okinawa Mist, a tiki-style cocktail with Japanese rum and Japanese whiskey mixed with passion fruit.
For Japanese whiskey novices, Yang explained, “Japanese whiskey is a little more unique in that they don’t have the same restrictions that bourbon or rye or Scotch does; they have the ability to use grain, rice or wheat; they have so much more freedom to create different profiles.”
And the best way to pique your palate’s interest for Japanese whiskey is to try one of Wakuda’s whiskey flights. You can get a taste of different labels that include popular brands like Hibiki, Shibui and Nikka, as well as lesser-known brands like Shinobu and Shunka Shuto.
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