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Star letter - Japanese influence
I recently attended the Whisky Live show in Glasgow where I picked up a copy of your magazine. After having tried and bought a bottle of Suntoryâs Yamazaki whisky I was interested to read the article in your magazine (issue 67) âLand of the Rising Sunâ.
I was fortunate enough to live in Japan for a year and frequented a whisky bar or two. I was impressed with the Japanese way of buying a bottle of whisky at the bar, drinking as much as you wanted, or could, and then leaving the bottle with the barman who would but your name on it and hold it until your return. Next time any of your readers have the opportunity to visit a whisky bar in Japan have a look out for the whisky bottles lined up on the wall behind the bar with peopleâs name tags dangling over the neck of each bottle. It was always my intention to leave a bottle behind the bar for my return but some how my drinking companion and I never seemed to leave anything in the bottle!!
On a more serious note I think that Japanese companies, such as Suntory, have had a positive influence on the Scottish whisky industry, without the investment in such famous distilleries such as Morrison Bowmore, distilleries would have struggled financially to survive.
Although difficult business decisions have no doubt been taken, for example the closure of the Glen Garioch distillery (which was later re opened), Japanese investment has secured jobs in this key Scottish industry, helped protect and .....
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By Rob Allanson
Section : Forum
Page number : 74
