Japanese Whisky Fans, Rejoice! It Will Soon Be Easier to Buy Your Favorite Spirit in the U.S.
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If you’re a whiskey (or whisky) fan, you’re certainly familiar with how difficult it has been to find bottles from the top two Japanese distilleries—Suntory and Nikka—over the past seven or eight years. But there has been some good news on that front recently, specifically from the latter, and that continues with the announcement of an increase in allotment of Nikka whisky to the U.S. in the coming year.
Suntory is the biggest and best known Japanese whisky company, with its three distilleries releasing bottles like the highly coveted Yamazaki 55. But Nikka isn’t far behind in terms of name recognition, and has its share of collectible bottles as well (although nothing nearly on the scale of that half-century-old whisky). Age statement expressions became particularly scarce as Japanese whisky decreased in availability and skyrocketed in price, but as we recently covered Nikka brought back its 10-year-old Yoichi single malt last spring. And now there’s more good news, as the company just announced that it will be increasing the amount of whisky that will be exported to the U.S., the second biggest market after France, as it gets ready to celebrate its 90th birthday in 2024.
Just how much more whisky this means, and how it will be priced, remains to be seen. But according to Nikka global marketing and sales GM Emiko Kaji, both the core range and special releases will be a bit easier to find. “Our team has been methodically working towards increased production for over a decade,” she said in a statement. “We believe the expansion in U.S. inventory will not only help satiate the demand of existing whisky fans in America, but also expose new consumers to our brand and category. Greater access to our core range will match the increasing inclination of mixology and cocktail culture–both at the bar and at home–and the recent release of Yoichi Single Malt 10-Year-Old and the upcoming 2023 Nikka Discovery Series Limited Edition will continue to intrigue the steadfast collectors.”
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Will this mean Nikka Coffey Grain will be as easy to find as Suntory Toki? Probably not, but hopefully it will be more obtainable than a bottle of Hakushu 18 (no shade, that’s an amazing whisky). It may be a few months before you see more bottles of Nikka in your local liquor store, but in the meantime you can find a pretty good sampling of the core lineup (and some ultra expensive limited releases) available to purchase from ReserveBar.
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