The big players of Japan continue to dominate whisky sales, but collectors are also looking to the new wave

Spotlight Japan – Of all the announcements Japanese whisky conglomerate Suntory made during its centenary year (2023), the one that caught the imagination most was the update on its imminent price rises. From April 2024, Suntory will increase domestic prices across its entire range – as much as doubling the price of some of its bottles. This will include its top-shelf brands Hibiki, Yamazaki and Hakushu. 

The price rises are linked to inflation in Japan but also reflect the global demand for their famous whisky brands and also the sheer difficulty of maturing enough stock to meet it. Suntory claim the price rises will allow them to increase production and to invest in additional production facilities. 

[View our House of Suntory 100th Anniversary Releases]

It’s a serious move by the dominant player in the Japanese market and puts the spotlight back on the value of Japanese whisky overall. 

Japanese whisky origins

Japan’s whisky boom kicked off in 1923 when Suntory founder Shinjiro Torii opened the doors to Destilería Yamazaki. This remains Japan’s oldest and most revered whisky maker. Located near Kyoto in the centre of this island nation, it led the way to Japan’s worldwide dominance on the global whisky market.

Using a Scottish blueprint for its malt whisky development, Suntory grew to be the dominant player in Japan, with ownership of Hibiki, Hakushu, Chita and Kakubin whisky, as well as Yamazaki. It also owns Beam Inc, the US spirits producer. That’s quite a portfolio and ensures the company, which is already the third biggest spirts owner in the world, will continue its dominance well into this century and beyond. 

Record sales

Sotheby’s reached a record resale price in its New York showrooms in 2022 when a 55-year-old Yamazaki that had previously sold for $20,000 dollars went under the hammer for $600,000. While this was the highest price paid for a bottle at that time, many other bottles in the Yamazaki core collection continue to grow in value. 

Mature stocks are naturally the most sought-after, and although the company’s many warehouses are filled to the rafters, they still can’t meet demand. The owners famously refuse to reveal the quantities of stock in oak or how many bottles they take from a cask, always leaving the waiting whisky fans thirsty for more.

Global players

And it’s not just Suntory that are driving the Japanese category deeper – there are now some 100-plus distilleries operating in Japan – that’s double the number a decade ago while global drinks leaders like Diageo and Pernod Ricard are busy making deals in the country.

Diageo bought into Komasa Kanosuke Distillery, which specialises in ultra-premium malts,  in 2021 while Pernod Ricard have recently snapped up the European distribution rights for Fuji Gotemba distillery. Meanwhile, US Kentucky-based IJW whiskey Company are building what is expected to be one of the largest distilleries on the island of Hokkaido. 

Nueva ola

For new fans of Japanese whisky, the focus is firmly on what’s going to happen next and the development of a new wave of Japanese distilleries. For many collectors, the most sought-after bottles are already at astronomical prices, so finding the next star release before everyone else is the most popular game in town.

Here are two New Wave Japanese whisky makers from our shelves:

EIGASHIMA/WHITE OAK DISTILLERY

Eigashima Akashi White Oak Distillery started distilling whisky in 1984, building on a long history of producing Shochu, a Japanese drink that can be produced from barley, rice or even sweet potato, as well as producing sake. It released its first single malt in 2007 under the Akashi name. 

Akashi Single Malt is a 50%, three-year-old single malt matured in ex-bourbon. Distilled in very small quantities, it is said to benefit from its coastal location with iodine notes underlying layers of vanilla and fruit. 

Barril de Jerez de Malta única Akashi es un whisky de cinco años embotellado a 50%. Es un asunto mucho más rico con un color mucho más oscuro de la maduración del jerez con sabores profundos de pasas, cereza, vainilla y almendras.

DESTILERÍA OKAYAMA

Launched in 2011, Okayama is owned by Miyashita Sake Brewery, a family-run company that was established by two brothers in 1915.  It currently produces just two releases, the  Okayama Triple Cask Single Malt and the Okayama Single Malt.  

Okayama Triple Cask Single Malt is made using all local ingredients, including malted barley and water from the Asahikawa spring. Matured in three barrel types: Pedro Ximenez, brandy and Mizunara Japanese oak, it is bottled at 43%. With complex flavours of oak, spice and honey underpinned by vanilla, caramel and cocoa it won gold at the International Spirits Awards in Germany in 2019. 

los Okayama Single Malt is bottled at 40% and matured in brandy casks, giving a warmer spice and much more pepper to the finish.