In an effort to better define their brands and products, The Japan Spirits & Liqueurs Makers Association has announced new, tighter Japanese whisky regulations, including the definition of what Japanese whisky is.

A statement from the Association accompanying the new regulations states Japanese brands are committed to taking away confusion for customers and clarifying which whisky types are fully created in Japan, and which have been blended using whisky from other countries.

“By clearly defining what ‘Japanese whisky’ is and making that information available to the public in Japan and abroad, we aim to clarify the confusing situation for the consumers. We also hope that appealing the value of our whisky, which has evolved rather independently in the past century, to our customers and whisky enthusiasts around the globe, would lead to further prosperity of the whisky industry in Japan.”

What was the problem?

Along with Japanese whisky’s rapid increase in popularity and its dominance on lists of the highest priced whisky in retail and auction markets, the issue of what constitutes a Japanese whisky has come to the fore.

“In recent years there have been cases where brands that only use imported foreign whiskies being sold as ‘Japanese whisky and cases where brands that do not meet the qualification of ‘whisky’ under the Japanese liquor tax law being sold as ‘whisky’ in other countries, sowing confusion among consumers.”

Japanese whisky makers haven’t been able to keep up with consumer demand over the past decade with the wider whisky boom. Many distilleries have had to incorporate blending their product with whisky bought from overseas in order to make supplies last longer and ensure quality.

Different blended whisky has been shipped – primarily from Scotland and Canada – and used in creating Japanese whisky, including our leading blended whisky, Nikka From the Barrel.