These cannot be sold on the international market as whisky, but that is a tremendous amount of rum/whisky hybrids available in that country so when there, be careful if you are looking to buy actual Indian whisky. Japan: Welcome to the wild wild east where spirit sourced from anywhere on this planet and “bottled” in Japan = Japanese Whisky! • Current definition includes fermented and aged rice, sweet potato, sugarcane or other grain spirits classified as Shōchū, when released within Japan. • No minimum age rule: neutral/unaged spirit can also be blended in with Japanese Whisky and still be called whisky. • Some of Japan’s spirits conglomerates own/distill elsewhere but then ship to Japan for ageing/bottling.
Fermentation, and Distillation - must be carried out at a distillery in Japan, and the distillate must be less than 95% ABV. • Aging: In wooden casks (maximum 700 litres capacity) and matured in Japan for at least 3 years. • Bottling: In Japan, 40% ABV minimum. • E150A can be used. • Article 6 for labelling - prevents phrases, images or names that evoke Japanese influence on any products not adhering to the regulations. However – this is not law, only rules that association members must abide by and there are no penalties should regulations be broken, unlike the Scotch Whisky Association which is well-known for court battles against anyone trying to mimic “Scotch” in any way or form.
The Whisky interpretations are so wide and loose, you could drive ten tanker-trailers filled with spirits through it! There are plenty of bottles of mysterious provenance labelled Japanese whisky available right now on the worldwide market and likely on personal shelves at home. Some companies are importing whisky/spirit into Japan from countries like Japanese
Luckily, most of the big players in Japanese Whisky are involved. Nikka, for instance, has started using printed disclosures. Their “From the Barrel” doesn’t meet the new regulations but the “Taketsuru Pure Malt” does. How will the Japanese Whisky industry police itself? Will it have the strength to protect consumers from the companies hiding their mystery bottles behind pretty labels? Will they irreversibly damage their integrity because we know some whiskies are bogus? We will have to wait and see…
Scotland or Canada, bottling it, slapping on a label with Kanji characters, a fanciful name or maybe something Japanesque to make it seem authentic and BAM = There you have it - Japanese Whisky! But that’s all about to change on April 1, 2024 when new regulations from the Japanese Spirits & Liqueurs Makers Association (JSLMA) go into effect. • Raw ingredients: Limited to malted grains, other cereal grains, and water extracted in Japan. Malted grains must always be used. • Production: Saccharification (breaking down complex carbohydrates into its component sugar molecules),
In the meantime, it’s your money so buy what you like and if it’s important that a Japanese Whisky meets the regulations then go to its website, hit the translation button and see if they do. If you can’t even find basic information about the whisky, chances are it does not. Either way, let the whisky be judged on its own merit.
Until next time, cheers!
Evan Full transparency: This may or may not have been written from an undisclosed part of the country that may or may not be Canada.
27
the whisky explorer magazine
WINTER 2024
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker