lifestyle

Kirin will stop selling one of its most popular whiskies as Japanese spirit shortage continues

6 Comments
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24

It’s hard to say whether it’s been a good year or a bad year for Japanese whisky. On the one hand, multiple makers have seen sales far exceed their expectations, as their products earn accolades around the globe and the highball boom continues going strong in Japan. But on the other hand, all the love for the Japanese spirits is proving to be too much of a good thing, as supplies are starting to run out.

The latest Japanese whisky scheduled to ride off into the peaty sunset is Kirin’s Fuji-sanroku Tarajuku Genshu 50, also known as Fuji Sanroku Tarujuku 50 Blended Whisky. Produced at Kirin’s Gotemba Distillery in Shizuoka Prefecture, not far from the foot of Mt Fuji (hence the name), Fuji-sanroku Tarajuku Genshu 50 received a gold medal at the 2015 International Spirits Challenge. Sales remained strong after a reformulation in 2016, so strong that Kirin now says that it will run out of stock following its upcoming late-March shipments to suppliers.

The company has stated that this will not be a temporary hiatus, but an official retiring of the product due to a lack of raw materials, so if you’re keen to score a bottle, now is the time. Part of the reason for Fuji-sanroku Tarajuku Genshu 50’s success has been its reasonable price for such a high-quality beverage, as 700-milliliter (24-ounce) bottles have been selling for as little as 1,500 yen in Japan, such as here through Amazon. However, with the impending scarcity, prices are likely to start moving up soon, though Kirin has said that sales of the pricier Fuji-sanroku Signature Blend, which debuted in August and goes for around 5,000 yen a bottle, will continue as normal.

The discontinuation of Fuji-sanroku Tarajuku Genshu 50 echoes the fates of rival Suntory’s hakushu 12 Year and Hibiki 17 Year whiskies, both of which disappeared from the market earlier this year.

Sources: IT Media, Livedoor News/Sankei News

Read more stories from SoraNews24.

-- Two of Japan’s best whiskeys are about to disappear, and no one knows when they’ll be back

-- We visit the Suntory Yamazaki Distillery, the newly-renovated, boozy paradise

-- Get a taste of the Force with these two new Mets drinks from Kirin!

© SoraNews24

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

6 Comments
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I have wanted to taste Japanese whiskey for decades, but have never gotten around to it. Some day.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

For those people finding it hard to find or too expensive to buy Japanese Whisky a very good alternative is Taiwanese Whisky especially Kavalan.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Gun foot, business loss. The internal business planners if there were any must have red faces, probably from the product.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@andrew Crisp.

Is that here in Japan?

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