Transparency at the Center of Much-Needed Upcoming Japanese Whisky Guidelines
New guidelines as to what constitutes Japanese whisky will be unveiled starting in April.( Photo: The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images )
The Japanese whisky category is getting a new set of labeling standards and definitions in April, Nikkei Asia reported Monday. The standards are set to be implemented by Japan’s liquor industry to improve transparency and quality and eliminate the existence of foreign-made spirits being labeled as Japanese whisky.
Previously, there haven’t been many regulations defining what exactly makes a Japanese whisky quintessentially Japanese, and the Japan Spirits and Liqueurs Makers Association shared it would be defining these new standards back in 2021. Those standards are now set to go into effect next month.
Under the pending regulations, for a whisky to be categorized as Japanese according to the new parameters, all raw ingredients — including grains and water — will need to be sourced from Japan. Only malted grains are to be used.
The new guidelines additionally require that saccharification, fermentation and the distillation process must happen in Japan, and alcohol during the distillation process must amount to no more than 95%. The whisky must be bottled in exclusively Japan, and the ABV must amount to a minimum of 40%.
The new legislation also states that businesses are prohibited from using labeling that includes names of people that evoke Japan, Japanese cities, regions, and geographical features, or any other labeling that could confuse individuals into thinking the product is Japanese whisky.
Japanese Whisky Guidelines — A Timeline on the Evolving Category
According to a 2021 article in Whisky Magazine, the government-approved Japan Spirits and Liqueurs Makers Association revealed that once the rules went into effect, it would enforce them internally, even though it is not an official government agency.
Japan Spirits and Liqueurs Makers Association issued a 2021 statement claiming the “unfortunate” trend of brands using imported whiskies and passing them off as Japanese whisky might have been a huge impetus for the rules.
Wine Enthusiast reported in May that the initiative followed public opinion claiming that the category was “way too flexible.”
“Snake oil salesmen, like certain distilleries that import Scotch whisky in bulk and then bottle and sell it as ‘Japanese whisky’ to unsuspecting consumers, have been given cease and desist orders,” Honkaku Spirits co-founder Christopher Pellegrini said, according to Wine Enthusiast.
The Japan Spirits and Liqueurs Makers Association touched on the deep ancestral connection between Japanese whisky and Scotch in its initial statement, claiming that many of the first producers of Japanese whisky learned about the practice from Scotch whisky makers. It went on to share that as the two countries’ whisky-making practices evolved, both developed their signature styles and practices.
In the 2021 statement, The Japan Spirits and Liqueurs Makers Association discussed the “common practice” that scotch whisky companies exchange stocks of whisky for blending purposes.
The organization claimed this practice is not commonplace in Japan, forcing Japanese whisky-makers to operate independently and use their techniques to make different whiskies, purchase distilleries internationally, or use imported whisky to blend a final product.
Whisky Magazine’s 2021 piece reported that the new rules were initiated by members of the Japan Spirits and Liqueurs Makers Association, including Nikka Whisky.
“It goes without saying that these developments are part of the history, tradition and culture of Japanese whisky-making,” the statement read.
The following legislation will pass in April and encourage a level of “transparency” amongst Japanese whisky-makers, according to Whisky Magazine.
“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,” The Japan Spirits and Liqueurs Makers Association said.
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