What is Japanese whisky?

The standard requires malt as raw material, water from Japan, fermentation and distillation in Japan, at least three years of maturation in Japan in casks of up to 700 litres, and bottling in Japan.

When distilling, the strength at the outlet may not exceed 95 percent. When bottling, a lower limit of 40 percent alcohol applies. Caramel is only permitted to adjust the colour slightly, not to add flavour. All requirements are in article 5 of the standard that the Japan Spirits and Liqueurs Makers Association laid down on 12 February 2021.

The Japanese liquor law defines whisky only by method of production. It says nothing about the country of distillation or maturation, so imported foreign distillate could be sold under the name Japanese whisky.

Article 3 of the Japanese liquor law defines whisky as a distillate of malted grains and water with an outlet strength below 95 percent. If alcohol, spirit, flavouring, colouring or water is added to it, it remains legally whisky as long as the whisky part makes up at least ten percent of the total alcohol. That law has no minimum maturation period.

An industry agreement. The Japan Spirits and Liqueurs Makers Association set the standard itself on 12 February 2021. Only members are bound by it and the government does not enforce it.

For the buyer that difference matters. The Japanese liquor law has not been changed, so outside the association's membership list the designation can still be used differently. When in doubt, look at the distillery on the label and at what the producer itself reports about origin and maturation.

A Japanese place name, mountain name, river name, personal name, the Japanese flag or an era name may not appear on whisky that does not meet the standard, unless that is clearly stated.

Article 6 prohibits designations that give the impression that a bottle is Japanese whisky while it does not comply with article 5. A producer may nevertheless use such a name if it visibly states alongside that the product does not meet the standard.

Until 31 March 2024. Whisky that was already sold under these designations on 31 March 2021 was allowed to keep the old label during that period.

Bottles from before that date may therefore still turn up without meeting the standard. In that case, look at the bottling year and at the mention of the distillery. Labels printed after 1 April 2024 by an affiliated producer do follow the standard.