Japanese whisky can get wildly expensive in Australia, so in this video I put one of the more “affordable” options under the microscope: The Chita Distiller’s Reserve (aka The Chita Select). I walk through what it actually is—Suntory’s single grain whisky from the Chita distillery, made mostly from corn on continuous column stills. The big point here is they’re producing three different spirit styles (clean, medium, heavy) and then blending them together, with maturation across Spanish oak, ex-bourbon casks, and wine barrels, before bottling it at 43% with no age statement. On the tasting, I get a light, floral nose with honey, vanilla, a touch of baking spice, and that classic Japanese “melon” note I seem to find everywhere. Then the palate does the thing I love about this bottle—it’s always a step up from the nose, with a thicker, oily mouthfeel, honeyed sweetness, vanilla sponge cake, and tropical fruit leaning more mango and a bit of pineapple zest. The finish isn’t long, but it’s sweeter than you’d expect for a NAS single grain, and at roughly $105–$120 AUD, I reckon it’s solid value in the Japanese category—especially neat, or even better, in a proper Japanese highball.