LCBO Food & Drink Travel 2025

JAPAN

Osaka Old-school travel itineraries often skipped over Osaka, a port city with a modern feel, in favour of quaint and picturesque Kyoto. That’s slowly changing as people discover that this youthful city is a street-food mecca that’s home to untold numbers of tiny bars, each with its own fascinating quirk. A TASTE OF JAPAN Nikka Whisky Yoichi Single Malt LCBO 21082, 700 mL, $94.90 No one element overwhelms in this elegant spirit that’s an expert balance of fruit, spice, nuts, floral notes and smoke. It’s this kind of nuanced expression that helped put Japanese whisky on the map.

Suntory Whisky Toki LCBO 465484, $65.95

A delicate whisky if there ever was one, Toki has lovely notes of bright citrus, fresh herbs and subtle vanilla. It’s excellent on its own, on the rocks or in a highball.

DRINK LIKE A LOCAL Less than an hour from Osaka is the Suntory Yamazaki Distillery, a destination that’s high on nearly every serious whisky lover’s bucket list. Founded in 1923, it was Japan’s first commercial whisky distillery. The second, Nikka’s Yoichi distillery, was opened about a decade later by the same pioneering whisky maker. For many years, these were the two main produc ers of Japanese whisky, which today is an acclaimed, award-winning category. Many expressions of both brands can be found in Osaka’s first-rate whisky bars, where tradition and precision bartending translate into perfect whisky highballs.

EAT ’TIL YOU DROP Osaka’s carnivalesque Dotonbori strip is famous for its over-the-top signage (think giant dump lings, crabs and octopi) that beckons people over to the many stalls and shops that sell local treats like takoyaki (fried batter balls with octopus) and okonomiyaki (a pizza-like pancake). It’s the perfect place to cure your “lonely mouth” and indulge in kuidaore (eat ’til you drop).

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———————— TRAVEL 2025