As a diehard whisky lover, one of the first thing C does on holidays is to map out every single whisky bar and liquor shop in the area and visit as many as he can.
Sapporo was a city of surprises, with a number of well stocked liquor shops (much better stocked than Tokyo with both Japanese whisky and interesting scotch, apart from a Yamazaki Sherry Cask spotted in Nihonbashi). It’s also home to one of the coolest whisky bars C has ever heard of.
The Bow Bar in Sapporo's bustling Susukino district is a bar that specialises in old scotch. When we say old, we don't just mean scotches that are 20, 30 or 40 years old, but Scottish whisky that was distilled in the 1950s, 1960s or 1970s, regardless of when they were bottled.
The bar is nestled in a non-descript tall building, just a few minutes’ walk from Susukino subway station, with quite small signage on street level. I recommend that you use Google maps to pinpoint the location if you want to avoid wandering around. Take the lift up and you'll see a tiled wall, wooden door and wall of empty whisky bottles and you've arrived at your destination.
Walk into the bar and it’s like stepping into another world. The noise from Susukino fades away and you're directed to a seat at the bar where you take in the rows on rows of old whisky, cognac and grappas.
The bar is owned and run by Junya Honma and his wife, who were very friendly and knowledgeable hosts. Before starting the Bow Bar, Junya spent time working in Scotland and so speaks perfect English.
As we have highlighted above, the Bow Bar specialises in old scotch and there isn't a bottle of Japanese whisky to be found. Further, none of the whiskies on shelf are current releases; all of them are old bottlings that are no longer available.
Without further ado:
The first whisky C tried was from the Port Ellen distillery, aged 14 years and cask strength (ABV 64.3%)
The Port Ellen distillery operated as a distiller from the 1800s to 1983 (it has a malting from which it supplies other distilleries on Islay). The remaining stock of whiskies are rare and are some of the most sought after whiskies in the world.
Although the bottle C tried was a 14 year old whisky, the actual whisky was distilled in 1974 and bottled in 1988, so it was like peering into the past, to taste how whiskies were made 40 years ago (and a tick on one of the items on C's bucket list).
As Junya explained it, a big difference in today's whiskies and whiskies distilled 40 or 50 years ago is the quality of the barley. Whisky from back then used barley that was cultivated for quality and taste. More modern whiskies use barley that is cultivated for mass production.
Having never tried another Port Ellen before, we can't really comment on whether a Port Ellen distilled in 1974 tastes different to a similar Port Ellen distilled in 1988. However, for the second whisky C tried, that difference was incredibly apparent.
The second whisky C tried was a Macallan Special Selection, distilled in 1965 and bottled in 1984.
However, on the strength of Macallan's reputation, C decided to give the distillery another go, but this time with a whisky distilled 50 years ago.
This whisky certainly changed C's mind and underscored why Macallan has the reputation it does. The Macallan 1965/1984 had amazing depth of flavour and sherried character. By comparison, current day Macallans taste like flavoured water. There was so much more flavour, it was almost like trying whisky from another distillery. Its an interesting comparison to the more recent Macallan 18, as the 1965/1984 whisky was aged for 19 years yet still completely blew it away.
Thats all the whiskies we tried at the Bow Bar, but C is itching to go back!
One thing to note is that like other bars in Japan, smoking is allowed inside. Someone lit up a cigar shortly after the Macallan and so C decided to call it a night soon after.
Drinks at the Bow Bar is not a cheap experience. However, in light of the rare old whiskies available, this is a must visit for any whisky lover that visits Sapporo. Its a one of a kind bar.
