1/The honest work on the Japanese shelf is done by the blends. Tenjaku, The Chita and Shinobu all sit near their own 360° jury; the age-statement malts and Hibiki carry the Japan tax. All 24 bottles priced live at Dan Murphy's this Thursday, the whole shelf. 9 of them have moved.
2/How I read it: each price against the fair value its own ten-seat jury hands that bottle, in percent. Nothing on this shelf dips under its mean. So the near end is "least over", the closest to fair, not a discount and not a deal. The far end is paying most above.
3/The least-over end, all live. Tenjaku at $92 sits about 1% past its jury, as close to fair as this shelf gets. The Chita at $111, near 3%. Mars Iwai at $108, same rung. Behind them both Shinobu blends hover around 3% too. Blends keep the honest prices here.
4/The words behind the shelf, pooled off its own reviews, country-wide: blended and mizunara oak, a thread of smoke, the Shinobu and Niigata house styles combining soft grain with cask. That is the Japanese character the reviews keep naming. Not a note on any single pour.
5/The dear end. Kurayoshi The Tottori at $97 runs about 39% over its own mean, the widest gap on the shelf and a live price, not a stale one. Then the age statements: Yamazaki 12 at $376 near 32%, Hakushu 12 at $378 near 29%. Small bottle, big premium up top.
6/So the tidy read: Japan's a shelf where the blends behave and the labels charge rent. The cheapest honest way on is Tenjaku at $92 or The Chita at $111. Hibiki Harmony asks $730 for the gift box. Which would you pour tonight, the $92 blend or the $730 bottle?
| End | Item | Price | Gap % | Priced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot 1 | Tenjaku Blended Japanese Whisky 700mL | $92 | +1.03% | observed 2026-10-01 |
| Hot 2 | The Chita Japanese Whisky 700mL | $111 | +2.63% | observed 2026-10-01 |
| Hot 3 | Mars Iwai Bourbon Barrel Whisky 750mL | $108 | +3.16% | observed 2026-10-01 |
| (hot) | The Shinobu Blended Japanese Whisky 700mL | $110 | +3.29% | observed 2026-10-01 |
| (hot) | The Shinobu Pure Malt Japanese Whisky 700mL | $147 | +3.42% | observed 2026-10-01 |
| Cold 1 | Kurayoshi The Tottori Blended Japanese Whisky 700mL | $97 | +38.58% | observed 2026-10-01 |
| Cold 2 | Yamazaki 12 Year Old Single Malt Japanese Whisky 700mL | $376 | +31.87% | observed 2026-10-01 |
| Cold 3 | Hakushu 12 Year Old Whisky 700mL | $378 | +29.04% | observed 2026-10-01 |
| (cold) | Hibiki Japanese Harmony 2021 Limited Edition Blended Whisky 700mL | $730 | +18.78% | observed 2026-10-01 |
| (cold) | The Shinobu Pure Malt 10 Year Old Japanese Whisky 700mL | $198 | +17.25% | observed 2026-10-01 |
None recorded.
claims row and to the Sources table; no figure is invented.Whole Shelf, scope Japan (country), vintage 2026-10-01.1, pack country-japan-aggregate.json. Gap basis PERCENTAGE; ce_gap_pct=(price−CE 360° mean)/price×100, each bottle's premium over its own CE 360° consensus; 'hot'=smallest premium (least over fair value), 'cold'=largest. No bottle sits below its own mean, so 'hot' is not a bargain. 'Hot'/'cold' are value labels only, never velocity or trend. Coverage 24 of 24 priced live in the 2026-10-01 harvest (100%). Sources holds the stored top/bottom notable-mover cut, not the full ranked shelf.
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