Does it get any better than this? Probably not. 

With five more months left to 2024, at the very least I know I've already gotten my best moment of the year in the bag - which really just means anything else is a bonus. Glass half full kind of guy? Call me four-glasses-of-whisky guy.

Takayama presents an Omakase and whisky pairing to celebrate the launch of the 2024 Tsukuriwake Selection.

Having given the 2023 season a miss, Suntory is back with its Tsukuriwake Selection for 2024 and this time it's mixing it up - no more full suites of Yamazaki's or Hakushu's, this time we're getting both... and then some. The Tsukuriwake Selection first made its debut in 2020 with five Yamazaki expressions each representing a component of some of what goes into the classic Yamazaki Japanese single malt that we know and love. It was designed to showcase the concept of diversity in its craftmanship - in this case blending - which goes by the term Tsukuriwake.

As we continue to push into an era where Japanese whiskies are just as, if not more popular than its Scotch counterparts (thanks to the cult classic Bill Murray film Lost in Translation as directed by Sofia Coppola, atop the 100 years of dedication from Suntory in creating great whiskies - Suntory celebrated its 100th Anniversary in 2023), there is a philosophical difference that separates the two mainstay categories of whisky. Here's what you really need to know about what differentiates the two - is the most coveted role in the distillery that of the Master Distiller/Whiskymaker or the Master Blender?

Suntory's fifth-generation Master Blender Shinji Fukuyo.

Master Distillers belong to Scotch distilleries, whilst Master Blenders belong to Japanese distilleries - therein enshrines what each believes to be the most important aspect of whiskymaking. Does the art reside in how you make the whisky, or is it embodied in how you select and marry together components? Scotch distillers start with the single malt, whilst Japanese blenders end with the single malt. And that is probably the most straightforward way to understand the two worlds of whiskies. This is also why you won't find much in the way of exotic cask finishes or label-extending unconventionalities when it comes to your core Suntory whisky expressions. For Suntory, its Yamazaki and Hakushu whiskies (we'll talk about the Hibiki another time) are themselves the pièce de résistance.

And thus Suntory's Tsukuriwake Selection has always been showcasing a deconstructed instance of the base ingredients, the casks used for maturation, and the processes by which each singular component is crafted - all of which goes into a toolbox for the Japanese spirits giant's generations of Master Blenders to use in his creation. If the classic Yamazaki is the symphony, each expression of the Tsukuriwake Selection are the instruments that are tapped upon to create a harmonious composition - after all, it is said that the blenders of Suntory are big fans of Brahm's Symphony No. 1 (which inspired the Hibiki).

The Suntory 2024 Tsukuriwake Selection.

| Read The Full Review Of The Suntory 2024 Tsukuriwake Selection Here. 

But that alone is not enough in the eyes of Suntory's blenders when it comes to appreciating their works - art lovers will be familiar with how particular artists require their artworks to be enjoyed in specific settings, be it the ambient light or sound. Suntory's blenders are no different - spirits as is in Asian culture has always been meant to be enjoyed along with food, working together to unlock particular nuances and textures.

| Reservations Here: House of Suntory Events

And where better than to realise this ultimate experiential dream than Singapore, with no shortage of incredible Japanese restaurants. And as such, for the Suntory 2024 Tsukuriwake Selection's launch, the spirits giant has collaborated with five Japanese Omakase chefs across five fine establishments - Kazuhiro Hamamoto of Hamamoto, Keiichi Kobayashi of Shinji by Kanesaka, Ryujiro Nakamura of Sushi Ryujiro Singapore, Taro Takayama of Takayama and Tetsuya Wakuda of Wakuda Singapore.

I'm told this has been months in the making and these restaurants have been individually vetted to ensure the food and whisky pairings work perfectly - bookings open in August 2024 in what is highly anticipated to be the experience of the year for whisky lovers, where they will get to sample the full Suntory 2024 Tsukuriwake Selection along with the Omakase dinner.

And we're underway - you know it's serious when the lotus leaves comes out.

When Suntory had asked if I'd been keen to attend a preview of one such Omakase and whisky pairing dinner - you know I had to come in hot with the details.

And so, on a fine Monday night, I made my way down to Takayama set in OUE Downtown Gallery to see what's up.

A neatly assembled map almost of what will be the experience of tonight - and am I excited or what?

I find my seat along the two long wooden tables that are joined at a right angle so that no matter where you're seated you get an excellent view of the chef, Taro Takayama, and his team at work. After all Omakase is as much food, as it is an appreciation of the finesse of how the dishes are prepared.

What I love about this space is not just that it is cozy, but because of the way the tables are angled, it almost brings you closer and more intimately to the culinary work. Most times, the dishes are actually prepared right in front of you (not even a full stretch of the arm away). 

We each get our own copy of the menu for the night, along with the whiskies to be paired with it. Each person gets an individualised placeholder for the whiskies we'll be trying and a neat little guide of what we should be expecting to nose and taste from the whiskies.

I knew that lotus leaf was going to be lit and I was not wrong. This was as fresh as a kiss from the ocean - and that Highball!

First up, we get a Highball made with the Yamazaki Distiller's Reserve Single Malt, paired with a cold appetizer that is really something else! As we were waiting to get started, I had wondered what the cook was doing with a stack of lotus leaves. As it turns out, the cold dish starts with a dashi jelly that sits on the lotus leaf, which we then pour into a cup of sweet crab flesh along with a ridiculously generous serving of uni.

The Highball was refreshing, as it was rich, it has the citrus zestiness but made to feel fuller on the palate with a gentle wave of honey - absolutely smashing! And the cold dish was not only fun, but incredibly tasty. The portions were beyond generous, and the dashi jelly too had this richness and depth of vegetable stock, whilst the crab was brightly sweet and softly elegant, and the uni so incredibly creamy and coastal with such firmness and freshness - like a kiss from the ocean. Together it was just touching on every flavour sensation - bright, dark, rich, clean, umami; but always really fresh. What a combo!

Is that all for me? *Intrusive Thoughts Alert*

One of the cooks came out with what almost felt like a comically large slab of beef that was so well marbled with these lovely streaks of white beef fat interspersed with the crimson meat. 

At times it feels like what the culinary team was doing was almost like watching a ballet show, each motion is intentional, meant to evoke both curiosity and at the same time tease at what is to come.

This Golden Promise takes the cake for being the most malty whisky I've had - it's so creamy and yet candied at the same time with tropical fruits galore.

And we're off with the first dram of the night - the Yamazaki Golden Promise.

This was one of the whiskies in the line-up that got me so excited having read about it months ago - which makes it all the more exhilarating to finally be having it!

This expression is made from the heritage Golden Promise barley - the same barley that was once used in Scotland in the 60's and 70's, which would later be known for producing some of the most legendary whiskies the past half a century! It is a barley that is so renowned amongst distillers (and even craft brewers) for giving the whiskies made with it much more body, more oiliness and creaminess, along with a richer and nuttier profile. Unfortunately, because as a crop it does not have great yields (therefore little is able to be produced), distilleries must pay farmers a premium to compensate them for growing Golden Promise barley. Therefore it is only used by some of the most well-established brands.

What I Thought Of The Whisky: I found the Yamazaki Golden Promise to completely shatter any expectations I had - it was completely astounding. It was so creamy and malty beyond anything I have had before, giving me all these notes of oatmeal, oatmeal cream and cereals - this beautiful rustic purity. It feels completely artisanal, raw and pure. That rustic flavour is then melded with the classic Yamazaki notes of honeycomb, maltose candy, sandalwood, candied pineapples and a basket of orchard fruits. Absolutely stunning! It was rich, rustic, fruity, candied!

That Tai, Wasabi, Flaky Sea Salt, Sudachi Lime combo just sent me straight to heaven - what a match up!

This was paired with an assortment of sashimi, each prepared right in front of us, slice by slice.

First up was the tai which came with freshly grated wasabi, flaky sea salt and Japanese sudachi lime. This combo was absolutely perfect. The richness of the tai, just lightly sweet but with a depth to it, is heightened with the slight spiciness, saltiness and zest. Wow.

Then came the saba and maguro which brought the same richness and depth, concentrated into the firm but fatty flesh of the sashimi, along with an assortment of condiments each prepared to give it a pickled or earthy flavour. This went very well with the Yamazaki Golden Promise which matched the richness, but brought about brighter fruits and honeycomb flavours and then gave the combined bite a middle note of that rustic cereal flavour. 

We are already off to a banging start!

A tart! Well, technically a foie gras tart - I'm sure I've dreamt of this before. That Islay Peated Yamazaki was surprisingly good; turned out to be the crowd favourite even.

Next came the Foie Gras Monaka, which was a rather cute tart - almost feels French - laid in with a bed of soft foie gras pate, and then topped with dabs of brighter fruit purees that gave the richness and oiliness of the foie gras more acidity.

This was paired with the second of the Tsukuriwake Selection, the Yamazaki Islay Peated. Now to be honest, I'm not a fan of Islay peated whiskies - I'm just not so big on that whole medicinal, ashy bitterness. But I've got to assess this objectively, and so personal preferences aside, I gave it a go.

The Yamazaki Islay Peated is made with peated malt from Laphroaig Distillery - which I'm sure many of you are big fans of - which was then brought over to Yamazaki Distillery to be distilled. 

What I Thought Of The Whisky: What surprised me so much about the Yamazaki Islay Peated was how this was actually really stellar - it's kept all of those coastal notes, you still get the salty sea spray, and the smoke, but there wasn't any of the medicinal or ashy bitterness that I tend to find rather harsh! On top of that, the "Islay" qualities were made so rounded with the Yamazaki candied richness, and then came all those fruits of green apples, tinned peaches, and tanghulu candied fruits. It kind of made me feel like I was having a fruit picnic by the coastline. Quite the surprise for me - and just for the sake of posterity, this was by far the crowd favourite, including Chef Taro!

I'm just going to say it - Cooking should be an Olympic sport.  

Whilst dinner proceeded and I was buzzing away with my fellow diners to my left and right about the Olympics amongst other things, I had momentarily looked across to find Chef Taro holding on to this muscular steel pot getting up to something.

Next thing I knew, we each got our a small little hot pot that sort of looks like a scented candle holder, and in it was a medley of abalone and Japanese mushroom rendered in a sweet vegetable cream of sorts. I had half expected it to be rather vegetal, but instead the cream was sweet and light and delicate. The chunks of abalone were again comically large (just look at how much bigger it was than my spoon and just to be clear, there were four chunks of these!).

This was paired with the third whisky of the night, and the first with an age statement - the Hakushu 18 Year Old Peated Malt.

Suntory Brand Ambassador Andrew Pang doing what he does best - serving rizz, and of course some stunning whiskies.

Throughout the dinner, as each whisky was being served, we had the ever charismatic Suntory brand ambassador Andrew Pang, who would share with us about the whisky, as well as the thought process going on behind the creation of each expression. Fun Fact: Did you know Andrew was once a flight attendant on Singapore's national airline carrier? Now you know why he's so photogenic!

He shared with us that he had organised the tasting of the Yamazaki Islay Peated side by side with the Hakushu 18 Year Old Peated Malt so that we could do a little comparison to get a sense of how the peated malt would express itself differently in the two flagship Suntory distilleries Yamazaki and Hakushu. He talks about how the water used plays a huge role, not just between Yamazaki and Hakushu, but also Islay, which is why despite using the same base ingredients, they come off so differently. Yamazaki is of course renown for using amongst the softest waters that has been long revered by Japanese tea masters.

What I Thought Of The Whisky: I found the Hakushu 18 Year Old Peated Malt to be all the things that I love about this incredibly underrated distillery - it was complex, layered, evoking this sense of walking through the forests of a temperate climate. It's got this minty and herbal quality about it that I so love, coming across as this freshness of menthol. It's given richness with honey, and set on a floor of Sherried flavours of cooked plums and figs, as well as some polished leather. The peat here comes through less in the way of smokiness, and more in the way of a sweet white ash. It just commands so much presence!

Capping it off with a classic that can't go out of style. Yamazaki and beef? Say less.

What I also found myself enjoying so much along the way is also seeing Chef Taro himself enjoy the same whiskies I was having - when asked, he said that he loved whiskies and that therefore he really wanted to pair his dishes with Suntory's best whiskies. This might seem rather straightforward - but you might be surprised to hear that not all that many Omakase chefs would want to add that additional dimension of spirits pairing with their dishes!

And so we head into the final whisky of the night - the Yamazaki 18 Year Old Mizunara! This was paired with that Wagyu beef from before, where here it comes with some pickled daikon and a cured Japanese egg yolk. I knew that beef was going to come in clutch!

Mizunara, or Water Oak, is a Japanese oak varietal that has become so special for Japanese whiskies. Found only in Hokkaido, they're not only incredibly rare and hard to use, needing to be hundreds of years old before they are thick enough, but are really porous and so barrels tend to break. They're also really challenging to use for whisky ageing as too short a maturation could see the whisky become too sharp and spicy, yet when used well, they impart what is known as kara - flavours of coconut, pineapples, sandalwood, that is entirely unique to Mizunara.

What an utter experience! Four stellar whiskies, best ice cream of my life.

As we're told, the Japanese government severely restricts who can use Mizunara as these trees are protected - and so only a select few distilleries are able to get their hands on Mizunara oak, or else purchase them second hand from someone who has it. I'm sure you can guess that Suntory, being the historic pride of the Japanese whisky scene, obviously gets the best access.

What I Thought Of The Whisky: I found the Yamazaki 18 Year Old Mizunara to be on point as usual - having tried past iterations of this expression - this does not miss. With prominent Mizunara notes backed up by a rich and candied body, this was rounded and delivered a combo of tropical fruits of coconuts, candied pineapples, tinned lychees, with an aromatic incense-ish sandalwood wafting about. What stood out was how all-rounded this was - it was balanced, with the tropical fruit basket not being total confectionaries, but at the same time retaining that candied brightness, with an overall richness. It's long and has a good amount of complexity, well-paced intensity and still managed to surprise me even though I've had past editions before!

This went well with the rich oiliness of the beef, securing the base, whilst the higher toned egg yolk capped it at the top, making the entire experience whole and complete.

We capped off with a Hokkaido Corn with Cherry Trout Donabe that sobered us up, only for us to finish off with homemade ice cream topped with diced Japanese melon and some house pour Cherry whisky (which is apparently made with Hibiki as its base!). The Donabe was a textural delight, giving savoury and umami flavours, whilst the the homemade ice cream was the most milky I've ever had!! The house pour Cherry whisky came with a single ice cube - surely intentional - and was really bright, rich and refreshing. 

| Read The Full Review Of The Suntory 2024 Tsukuriwake Selection Here.

What an experience it was! The 3 hour dinner was just such a stunner - from the intimate and stylish ambience, to the performance of the culinary team preparing each dish (like an orchestra directed by Chef Taro), to the flavours and textures with both food and drinks combined! Every bite and sip felt like a masterwork where you feel the intentionality and thoughtfulness behind how everything seems to so neatly fit one and another. Every turn felt complete in flavour, complex in texture, and at times even interactive - when was the last time you poured dashi jelly off a lotus leaf?

As mentioned before, through the dinner I got to see Chef Taro assemble each dish, with the staff going over what it was we're having and how we should savour it - it all felt like a love letter from a man who enjoys the completeness of an experience with fine whiskies. I always got the sense that the experience with every item felt elevated; whether the whisky was completing the dish, or the dish was uplifting the whisky - I could not tell where one ends and the other begins.

All I could tell was that this was easily the best meal I am assuredly going to have this year - and boy, was it an incredible experience.

A last parting shot. 

I've really got to complement the Suntory team for an incredibly thoughtful execution of giving its whisky fans such a stunning experience - big shout out to the team for their relentless effort! Not only do you get to taste the entire 2024 Tsukuriwake Selection, but you're getting it with a specially designed Omakase course as well at some of Singapore's more respected Japanese fine dining restaurants - if this ain't it, I don't know what is.

I was so totally impressed and walked off a happy man, smiling from ear to ear. I could not wait to tell everyone what an experience that was. This is a dinner I'm going to remember.

If this sounds like something you might be into - especially if you or someone you know is a whisky lover - definitely check this out because it's only on for a very limited time for the month of August 2024. It's so absurdly enjoyable, and for both a whisky flight (that would otherwise run you upwards of $6,000 SGD for the set of four full expressions) and an Omakase, it really is a great deal here.

| Reservations Here: House of Suntory Events

Kanpai!

@111hotpot