Scottish distilleries are in shock after a Japanese single malt was named the best whisky in the world. 
 
 Whisky expert Jim Murray described the Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013 as a drink of “near incredible genius”, awarding it 97.5 marks out of 100 in the 2015 World Whisky Bible. 
 
 To add insult to injury it is the first time in the Whisky Bible’s 12-year history that a Scottish malt has failed to make the top five drams. It is also the first year that a Japanese whisky claimed the highest accolade. 
 
 Mr Murray, who oversees the review that samples over 4,500 different whiskies, labelled the results a “wake up call” for Scottish distilleries, claiming the winner was “a single malt which no Scotch can at the moment get anywhere near”. The review unfortunately awarded the best European whisky of the year to English tipple Chapter 14 Not Peated, from the English Whisky Company. 
 
 After personally tasting nearly 1,000 whiskies, Mr Murray said Scottish distilleries were in danger of churning out drab or mediocre malts and said it was time for “a little dose of humility” from the northern whisky makers so they could “realised something is missing.” 
 
 He praised praised the Yamazaki’s “nose of exquisite boldness” and finish of “light, teasing spice”. 
 
 But whisky-lovers may need to be quick. There were only 18,000 bottles of the winning whisky made – and retail in only a few hundred specialist shops in the UK for around £100. ||||| Seiichi Koshimizu (L), chief blender of Japanese drinks giant Suntory, tastes a 50-year-old single malt whisky as then vice president Shingo Torii (R) displays its bottle at a Tokyo hotel on May 11, 2005. AFP/File Tokyo (AFP) - Japanese whisky will be sent into space next month to test how time in a zero-gravity environment affects its flavour, one of the country's biggest drinks makers said Friday. 
 
 Samples of whisky produced by Suntory will be stored in the Japanese laboratory facility of the International Space Station for at least a year, with some flasks staying longer. 
 
 Researchers for the company believe that storing the beverage in an environment with only slight temperature changes and limited liquid movement could lead to a mellower flavour. 
 
 Suntory will send whisky aged for 10, 18 and 21 years as well as a number of other alcoholic substances. 
 
 Once they are returned to Earth, blenders will assess their flavours while researchers subject the liquids to scientific analysis, the company said. 
 
 "For the moment, we're not thinking about applying the study results to commercial products," a Suntory spokeswoman told AFP. 
 
 Whisky demand rocketed in Japan last year after national broadcaster NHK aired a period drama called "Massan," the true story of a Japanese entrepreneur and his Scottish wife who are credited with establishing Japan's first whisky distillery. 
 
 Sales also soared when Suntory's Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013 was named the best in the world by the prestigious Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2015.
– Each time a new edition of the World Whisky Bible comes out, you can expect to see a Scottish distillery at the top—but the 2015 version is full of firsts. A Japanese whiskey has stolen the No. 1 rank for the first time, while no Scottish whisky even made it into the top five, the Independent reports, noting that "to add insult to injury," Europe's best whiskey hailed from ... well, England. Japan's Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013 shows "near incredible genius," says expert Jim Murray, adding that it's "a single malt which no Scotch can at the moment get anywhere near." Murray, who sampled some 1,000 whiskies, says this should be a "wake-up call" for Scotland. The US, meanwhile, boasts the runner-up position, the Whisky Exchange reports: William Larue Weller Bourbon, from Kentucky, took the No. 2 spot.