Yamazaki whisky named the best in the world

TOKYO, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Japan's Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013 has been named the world's best whisky by the 2015 World Whisky Bible, leaving Scotland in the dust.

Whisky expert Jim Murray described the beverage as "near indescribable genius" with a "nose of exquisite boldness" and a "light, teasing spice" of a finish. Murray gave the whisky a 97.5 out of 100.

This is the first time in the Bible's 12-year history that a Japanese whisky has made the list. Even worse for the Scots, there wasn't even a Scotch in the top five.

Murray said this should serve as "a wake up call" for the Scottish whisky industry as he considered Yamazaki's "a single malt which no Scotch can at the moment get anywhere near."

The Whisky Exchange describes it as "aged in casks which used to hold oloroso sherry, this is a rich and fruity Japanese whisky."

Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013 is currently out of stock on the website but runs for about $160.00. Whisky of the same brand runs from $157.00 to more than $1,100.00.

Sam Simmons, a whisky expert, said the Japanese whisky was excellent and a worthy winner but it was absolute "balderdash" to call Scottish whisky uninventive.

"The assumption from Murray's statements is that Japanese whisky has an edge on Scotch because of a stronger vision or wilder innovation," he said. "But when it comes to innovations, like using local barley or local oak, there are precedents in Scotch in every case. So in what way is Japanese whisky's success due to innovations that Scotch lacks? It is due to releasing top quality malt whiskies."