This is a big event where you can sample over 700 award-winning bottles from the “Tokyo Whisky & Spirits Competition (TWSC) 2023” organized by the TWSC Executive Committee (planned and managed by Whisky Culture Institute Co. This is a unique event where visitors can enjoy free tastings and paid tastings of not only whisky, but also gin, brandy, rum, vodka, shochu, and a variety of other spirits.
The event will be held on Sunday, July 9, and tickets for the two-part event are available at the Whisky Culture Institute’s online store starting at noon on Thursday, May 25 (limited to 500 tickets for each session).
1. How to purchase tickets
Available at the Whisky Culture Institute’s online store.
Paid tasting tickets are also available at 1,000 yen per ticket, up to 5,000 yen for 5 tickets at the same time.
・For Part 1 (11:00-14:00), please click here
・For Part 2 (15:00-18:00), please click here
Purchased tickets will be sent out sequentially from Tuesday, June 20.
Please make sure to agree to the <event rules> before purchasing tickets for this event.
2. Outline of the event
| Venue | Ebisu Subaru Building, 1-20-8 Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0013, Japan |
| Access | 3-minute walk from Ebisu Station on JR Yamanote Line and Subway Hibiya Line |
| Date and Time | Sunday, July 9, 2023 Part 1: 11:00 – 14:00, Part 2: 15:00 – 18:00 |
| Price | 5,500 yen (tax included) |
| Organizing | Whisky Culture Institute TWSC Secretariat |
2-1. Ticket Purchaser Benefits
Includes benefits worth 2,750 yen!
・TWSC2023 Official Guidebook for Western liquors (1,650 yen)
・TWSC2023 Official Guidebook for Shochu (1,100 yen)
2-2. Bottle lottery
Limited to the first 300 tickets for each section. The price is +1,000 yen to the ticket price.
30 TWSC award-winning bottles (Western liquors & Shochu) will be available for each part of the event as prizes for the winners.
For those who did not win, there will be participation prizes (many original mini bottles from past events, original goods, etc.).
The first part of the bottle lottery tickets are already sold out.
Tickets for the second part bottle lottery tickets are still available (*As of June 6, 2011).
3. Finally
TWSC is one of the largest whisky and spirits competitions in Asia. This is a rare opportunity to sample most of those award-winning bottles for free. Tickets are limited, so don’t delay!
Many whisky festivals have been held around the country this year until this June. There are several more whisky festivals scheduled for the remaining six months of the year as well.
If you like whisky but have never attended an event before, you are sure to enjoy this event including the atmosphere of the venue. You will surely discover something new!
Lastly: Recommended Books on Japanese Whisky
If you want to learn more about Japanese whisky, which is a global trend, we highly recommend these books.
(1).Whisky Galore Vol.29 December 2021 issue
In the December 2021 issue of Whisky Galore, published by the Whisky Culture Research Institute, we report on 11 Japanese craft distilleries, including some that are open to the public for the first time, under the title of “Japanese Whisky Craft Frontline,” the first of three consecutive issues. Why did the popularity of Japanese whisky and the craft boom occur? We will examine with interviews. Chichibu Distillery / Chichibu No.2 Distillery / Mars Shinshu Distillery / Mars Tsunuki Distillery / Kanosuke Distillery / Hioki Distillery / Ontake Distillery / Osuzuyama Distillery / Kaikyo Distillery / Hanyu Distillery / Konosu Distillery
(2). Japanese Whisky as an Education for Business
This is a book written by Mamoru Tsuchiya, a world-famous whisky critic and representative of the Whisky Culture Research Institute, titled “Japanese Whisky as a Culture that Works for Business” .
The book covers the basics of whisky, the introduction of whisky to Japan, the birth of Japanese whisky, advertising strategies and the rise of Japanese whisky, and the current rise of craft distilleries. This is a book that summarizes Japanese whisky in a very easy to understand way.
(3). Whisky and I (Masataka Taketsuru)
Masataka Taketsuru, the founder of Nikka Whisky, devoted his life to brewing whisky in Japan. This is a revised and reprinted version of the autobiography of a man who simply loved whisky and talked about himself. The book vividly depicts the days when he went to Scotland alone to study as a young man and overcame many hardships to complete Japanese whisky, as well as his companion, Rita.
(4). A Letter of Challenge from a New Generation Distillery
Launching in 2019. With the world experiencing an unprecedented whisky boom, what were the managers of craft distilleries thinking and what were their thoughts as they took on the challenge of making whisky? This book tells the stories of 13 craft distillery owners, including Ichiro Hido of Venture Whisky, famous for his Ichirose Malt, who inspired the birth of craft distilleries in Japan.
(5). Whiskey Rising
This is the Japanese version of Whisky Risng, published in the US in 2016, with much updated content. Not only does it describe the history of Japanese whisky in detail, but it also includes data on all the distilleries in Japan, including the craft distilleries that have been founded in recent years. The book also includes descriptions of the legendary bottles that have been released, as well as information on bars where Japanese whisky can be found.
