Nikka Whisky celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Miyagikyo Distillery on May 11, 2019. Part of the celebration is the release of limited editions of both Single Malt Yoichi and Single Malt Miyagikyo, respectively named “Single Malt Yoichi Limited Edition 2019” and “Single Malt Miyagikyo […]

Yamaguchi-based Asahi Shuzo is preparing a global launch of “Dassai Umeshu” for March 1, 2019. In development for the past three years, it’s a honkaku umeshu, meaning it contains only liquor, sugar, and plums — thus no added flavoring, coloring, or souring agents. The report […]

The writing was on the wall for The Nikka 12 since early this year, with the company filing a trademark application for a whisky called “The Nikka Tailored.” I took a guess at the time that it probably meant the demise of The Nikka 12. […]

Just yesterday Hokuriku-based Wakatsuru Saburomaru Distillery released “Junenmyo Half Decade” specifically for their home region, Hokuriku. Per their announcement it contains “selected whiskies from several barrels aged over 5 years old.” Assuming it contains whisky actually distilled at the Saburomaru Distillery, that would be from […]

French whisky megastore Le Maison du Whisky has picked up an exclusive bottling of blended Mars Whisky, and they have named it “Kasei.” Kasei is of course Japanese for Mars. It’s a relatively affordable 36 euro, but limited to two bottles per customer. They describe […]

It looks like Okinawan bitters will soon be another bottle that bartenders can add to their arsenal. Okinawa’s second-oldest awamori distillery, Mizuho Shuzo, has announced the launch of “Craft Bitters Citrus” on February 14. Okinawa Times reports that it uses Okinawan lemongrass as well as […]

The world now has its first officially Vegan sake, coming from Iwate Prefecture’s Nambu Bijin. By nature, pretty much all sake is probably Vegan anyway, since it’s generally only made from koji, rice, and water. But actually obtaining certification as a Vegan product is a […]

Another stealth release out of the Kyoto Distillery: Ki No Bi Edition G, aged in ex-Henri Giraud Champagne Barrels. Seems that the idea came out of a recent visit by Claude Giraud, 12th generation winemaker at the Champagne house of Henri Giraud, to the Kyoto […]

Crowd favorite Johnnie Walker Blue Label is getting a Japan-only version named simply “Johnnie Walker Blue Label Japan Limited Edition 2019.” Similar to how we got that Japan-only Jameson last year, this version of Blue Label has the same liquid as always but has some […]

We now have an official date for the highly anticipated release of Akkeshi New Born Foundations 3: March 5, 2019. This one has a lot of people talking since it’s aged entirely in casks made from mizunara from Hokkaido itself, which is quite an accomplishment […]