What rules apply to Japanese whisky?

Only whisky that, according to the standard of the Japan Spirits & Liqueurs Makers Association, has been fermented, distilled, matured and bottled entirely in Japan may be called Japanese whisky.

The standard is called Standards for Labeling Japanese Whisky and sets out for each step what has to happen. The mash always uses malt, optionally supplemented with other grains, and the water must be sourced in Japan. Saccharification, fermentation and distillation take place in a distillery in Japan, with the distillate staying below 95 percent alcohol.

After that the distillate goes into a wooden cask of at most 700 litres and matures for at least three years in Japan, counted from the filling of that cask. Bottling also takes place in Japan, at a minimum of 40 percent by volume. Plain caramel as a colouring is permitted.

The standard also governs the wording on the label. Japanese and whisky must stand together, with no other words in between. Designations such as type or style are not permitted for bottles that do not meet the requirements.

The Japanese liquor tax law does define what whisky is, but does not require Japanese origin, so for years foreign distillate bottled in Japan came onto the market as Japanese whisky.

The trade association names that problem itself in its explanation of February 2021. It writes that products were being sold as Japanese whisky that consisted only of imported foreign whisky. And that abroad, products were being sold as whisky that did not meet the Japanese legal definition of whisky. According to the organisation, buyers thereby lost track.

The same explanation also gives the background. Japanese makers learned the trade from Scottish distillers, but in Japan there is hardly any trade in whisky stocks between producers. Japanese houses therefore developed their own methods, bought distilleries abroad and used imported whisky in their blends.

No, the standard is a private agreement of the trade association JSLMA and binds only its members, because the Japanese government does not enforce it.

The JSLMA set the standard on 12 February 2021 and put it into effect on 1 April 2021. For bottles already on sale on 31 March 2021, a transition period applied until 31 March 2024. Since 1 April 2024, the standard has therefore applied to the members' entire range.

The organisation was founded in July 1953 with the approval of the Minister of Finance and sets voluntary labelling standards for spirits and liqueurs. That gives it authority in the trade, but no legal power. A producer who is not a member can ignore the standard.

The two largest Japanese producers, Suntory and Nikka, supported the standard when it was introduced. That explains why most of the range now meets it.

In our shop at Brink 2 in Bathmen there are 127 bottles from Japan, from 36 brands, within a whisky range of 4,017 different bottles.

The biggest Japanese brands on the shelf are Mars Komagatake with 11 bottles, Mars with 10, Chichibu with 9, Nikka with 8, Yamazaki with 7 and Hakushu with 6. Next come Akashi, Akkeshi, Kanosuke, Kura and Togouchi with 5 bottles each, and Suntory with 4.

Not every bottle from Japan meets the standard for Japanese whisky. Some bottlings contain imported whisky and are therefore simply labelled whisky or blended whisky. If you want to know what you are holding, ask us in the shop. We will go through the label with you and tell you where the bottle comes from.

Wij verkopen geen alcohol aan personen onder de 18 jaar. NIX18.

Since 2025, members of the JSLMA can put an official emblem on the label, with the letters JW and the words Japanese Whisky and JSLMA around it.

The organisation unveiled that emblem on 26 March 2025. It is drawn as the head of a whisky cask, with JW in the middle. The JSLMA applied for a trademark registration in Japan and wants to do the same in other countries. Members only put it on bottles that meet the labelling standard.

If the emblem is missing, that says nothing in itself. A bottle can meet all the requirements without carrying the sign, and non-members do not use it in any case. So look above all at whether the words Japanese Whisky appear as a whole on the label, and whether the bottle names the distillery, the maturation and the place of bottling.