I found most Japanese whiskey to be too sweet for my taste. GJ has that balance of smoothness while keeping the sweetness at bay.

Plus I'm not that big of a fan of non-scotch whisky anyway.

By the way if you want something truly smooth, and not too sweet, the cheaper Mackinlay's Shackleton remake, usually around £20 a bottle (should be around $25-30 in the US), is an amazing choice.