Yamazaki quality time

If you're whiskey fan (or even if you're not),you might have heard of Yamazaki whiskey which has been recognized as one of the best whiskeys in the world.

Luckily I got a chance to visit the Yamazaki distillery thanks to my friend who made a reservation for the guided tour at very last minutes, actually it was full until a day before but he kept an eye on online booking and he took a spot that someone just canceled! Lucky me!

We took JR line to Yamazaki station which only took 15 mins from Kyoto station, and the town itself looked lovely being surrounded mountains. And here we are, Yamazaki!

I think you can get better/more information about Japanese whiskey and what makes it special
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/whisky/what-makes-japanese-whisky-so-unique/

my sister, being excited

Guided tour was pretty impressive, my friends who are non Japanese native speakers got offered English audio guide that you sometimes see at museums, and tour guide will tell you which number to press and you can follow along with the tour, so language is not a problem!

distillation hall with three different shapes of pot stills for different characters

aging room - that cask is as old as her!

At the end of the tour, we got to the tasting room! (Look how happy my sister is!)

We got to try 3 different whiskeys - 2 from right are the same, tried one straight and another with soda (highball)

of course Instagram #Yamazaki

Kanpai with our perfect highballs! OMG, what kind of highballs have I had? The one made with proper instruction was so different from what I've ever tasted, smooth yet refreshing!

Thank you Lane and his crew for making reservation for us!

 And after fun tasting time, we walked around the museum part and studied their history and other top whiskeys - Scottish, American and Canadian.

After we left the distillery, we decided to go for a walk in the bush to see the last autumn colors - the air was crisp enough to cool us down a bit after extra tasting, red is vivid, the area was so quiet that made me ask myself "where am I?" especially compared to hustle and bustle in Kyoto for its busy season!  

I'd definitely recommend everyone to visit there for a small trip from Kyoto/Osaka.
You can check their tour vacancy through this link:
http://www.suntory.com/factory/yamazaki/inspection/distillery_tour/

Happy winter! :)