Ah, so.....

Shock, horror - Japanese whisky has bagged the top prize in a blind tasting test of whiskies from around the world. The Scots are apparently appalled. But this is a bit like the Melton Mowbray pork pie business isn't it (see post 22/12/05)? There's nothing to tie whisky production specifically to Scotland, other than history. It's all in the grain and the water. Scotch of course, must come from Scotland, but whisky (or whiskey) can be made anywhere, and perhaps it is no real surprise that the Japanese, who are traditionally so good at copying what other people do, should eventually produce a top-class product. Mind you, at (apparently) £150 a bottle, I'm unlikely to be sampling it!