Written by Mika Tanimoto, Owner-Bartender, Bar Little Happiness — Hiroshima’s specialist whisky & rum bar with 1,000+ bottles
OMAR Distillery is one of Taiwan’s whisky producers that operates in the shadow of Kavalan — which is inevitable, given Kavalan’s extraordinary international recognition. But OMAR, produced by Nantou Distillery in central Taiwan’s mountain interior, has its own distinct character and increasingly its own audience.
The Concerto expression represents a particular collaboration: a bottling designed in dialogue with a dedicated collector from Hong Kong who approached the distillery with specific ideas about what kind of whisky they wanted to see. This kind of enthusiast-driven collaboration — where a knowledgeable drinker influences the selection and development of a specific expression — is relatively unusual outside the independent bottler world.
Nantou and OMAR
Nantou Distillery is located inland, in Taiwan’s mountainous heart, at an elevation that creates different maturation conditions from the coastal Yilan location of Kavalan. The climate is hot and humid, but somewhat more moderate than the coastal plains — still accelerated compared to Scotland, still producing rich, concentrated spirit, but with its own particular character.
OMAR’s base style tends toward the tropical fruit, honey, and light floral notes that characterise whisky made in Taiwan’s climate with careful attention to cask selection. The Concerto expression demonstrates what additional specificity — in cask selection, in maturation timing — can add to that base.
OMAR expressions are available at Bar Little Happiness. Read the full Japanese column: little-happiness.jp/columns/omar-concerto/
Bar Little Happiness | Hiroshima, Japan
Rum & Whisky specialists | 1,000+ bottles | English menu available
Open Mon–Sat 7PM–12:30AM, Sun 7PM–midnight
No cover charge. Walk-ins welcome.
english.little-happiness.jp