Prices
Prices and stock come from each retailer's website. Check with the store before you buy.
More from this distillery: All Fuji (Kirin) whiskies and prices
About
What it is
A Japanese domestic blend from Fuji Gotemba, launched in March 2016 at 50% and non-chill filtered, which at its price point was close to unheard of. Kirin retired it in late 2018, citing a lack of raw materials rather than a temporary pause. It was widely used for highballs in Kirin's contracted izakayas and typically sold for around 1,500 to 1,700 yen.
Where it comes from
Made at Fuji Gotemba, which produces both malt and grain whisky on site. Kirin states the Fuji whiskies are made exclusively from whisky produced at the distillery. This bottling predates the Japan Spirits and Liqueurs Makers Association standard, which arrived in 2021, three years after it was discontinued, so it was never assessed against it.
How it's made
The blend combined two malt whiskies from pot stills with three grain whiskies from three different still types: a kettle, a doubler and a column, which almost no distillery anywhere runs together. Medium and heavy type grains led, with a small peated malt component. Maturation in American oak. Master blender Jota Tanaka made the call to bottle at 50% without chill filtration, which is the reason this bottle has the reputation it does.
What to expect
Dark vanilla, toffee brittle, macadamia and singed oak, then milk chocolate and popcorn moving through cherry, damson and red apple, with pepper and liquorice and a drying, spicy finish. Considerably more whisky than the original price suggested.
How it compares
Against Fuji Sanroku Signature Blend, the premium replacement, this was the cheap one and a fair few drinkers preferred it. Against the newer Fuji Single Grain and Fuji Single Blended, those are the current expressions of the same distillery. Losing this left Fuji Gotemba without an affordable everyday bottle, which is a large part of why it's mourned.
