For the last decade, Japanese whisky has been gaining popularity around the world. However, the spirit has been in production in Japan since 1923, when chemist Masataka Taketsuru brought back his love of whisky from Scotland, and founded Yamazaki, the country's first distillery, with Shinjiro Torii jut outside Kyoto. Now Japan's whisky is threatening to surpass Scotland in popularity, following the 2015 designation of Suntory's Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013 as the best whisky in the world by Jim Murray's Whisky Bible. And in San Francisco, the spirit is all the rage, whether it's mixed into cocktails, on the rocks or neat.
But with so many people drinking it, some of the most beloved bottles have become rare and only a handful of bars feature a diverse selection of the smokey spirit. If you want to get in on the action, where should you go? Here are 8 of the best places to drink Japanese whisky in the Bay.
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