Japanese whisky crisis

I very much doubt availability or pricing will improve in the next few years...

This shortage of Japanese age-statement whiskies looks real to me, and I expect it to get much more severe before it gets better.

Where we are, we used to have available just 4 or 5 age statement Japanese whiskies. Now we are down to just Yamazaki 12 yo, and, at $ 71.19 + 6.41 tax, it costs 70% more here than it did 3 years ago,

Frankly, I think that if you like it and its current price, and it has an age statement, you had better stock up on it while there is an opportunity to do so. The list is now pretty long of whiskies which have become rare and expensive just in the last 5 years. That list continues to grow every day.

Unfortunately, the crisis seems to be very real. There are rumours in Japan that Nikka will stop eliminate all age statement single malts from their portfolio until the end of the year - that would concern Miyagikyo 10/12/15 and Yoichi 10/12/15/20. Reason: dramatic depletion of stocks. The same goes for their blended malts like Taketsuru. The current NAS versions of both Miyagikyo and Yoichi that come in 500ml bottles will be 'upgraded' to 700ml bottles. In Europe we have had word that Yamazaki 12 and 18 will be back soon (they had been out of all stores for more than 6 months), albeit at a much higher retail price. Eventually, these expressions might disappear, too. I usually do not put much emphasis on rumours but this time I have actually started to stock up.

Went to my favorite outlet; thought I might check out Japanese Whisky...came away with a 12yo. Elijah Craig @ 47%...A good selection of ages but at these prices, no thanks!

www.danmurphys.com.au/whisky/japanese

Kanpai!

Omg it's even worse than I thought. I was secretly hoping that the Gin craze would take some attention away from the Whisky boom, but it doesn't seem to work out that way :(

I don't want to contribute with speculation, but with observations. I think it's going to get worse.

I was recently in Japan and the Japanese aged statement whisky was very, very hard to find. Previously when I've been to Japan I've always acquired age statement whisky without difficulty. I noted blends and NAS malt is easy to find.

I did see in one shop several bottles of Yoichi 15 & Kirin Fujisan Roku 18 that disappeared in a matter of days. I later went to Sapporo and decided to buy a bottle of Fujisan Roku 18 on sight and happy I did.

Also note I was at the Yoichi distillery and all the aged whisky expressions where out of stock in the giftshop. The crowd in the tasting room was the biggest I've ever seen in a Japanese distillery. Literally no sitting room.

Many thanks for the report from Japan, @Frost. I think that this confirms our worst fears. It seems that Yoichi distillery became a victim of its own success. I just managed to salvage a bottle of Yoichi 20yo over here in Switzerland. Prices now know only one direction: North!

I never really tried Japanese whisky but given the removal of Nikka age statements I've bought a few just to make sure I can try them at semi-rational prices. Even the Yamazaki 12 yo is getting a little tricky to find!

@Frost

Yup, it's the same story that I heard from a mate who recently returned from a holiday in Japan during the Sakura Festival.

I was out shopping today and I saw tons of age-stated Japanese whisky at what seem like reasonable prices. I don't really follow Japanese whisky so I don't have a lot of context here, but I think I saw Yamazaki, Nikka, Hakushu—maybe Yoichi? Lots of bottles around 12 and 18 YO, at roughly the same prices as Scottish malts of the same ages.

If you're curious, I saw this at two shops in Madison, WI: Steve's on University and Riley's downtown.

@OlJas Grrrrab it! Get rich :p

Any recommendation for a guy who also displays a fair amount of peaty zealotry?

I just bought a Miyagikyo 12. Very hard to come by where I live. A friend brought it back for me from a distant corner of my rather large state. It's the only Japanese bottle I own. I tried the Taketsuru 17 last weekend at a pub and was not impressed. Generally, I find Japanese whisky, like Amrut, to be overhyped. If you can't get any to pile in your bunker, don't fret. This said, I LOVE the Miyagikyo 12. It is, to me, an example of a near perfect whisky in its class. I can only imagine what older versions of this lovely broth would taste like.

@OlJas

Slim pickings for a peat lover as far as Japanese Whisky goes - the Yoichi is probably the best bet. Not really peaty but can be just mildly smoky.