Beam Global Spirits & Wine
Whisky Concerns
BEAM GLOBAL SPIRITS & WINE
Ardmore :5.200.000 litres
Laphroaig :2.900.000 litres
Suntory to form super group with $16bn Beam
Ardmore :5.200.000 litres
Laphroaig :2.900.000 litres
Suntory to form super group with $16bn Beam
January, 2014
Suntory has announced it will pay $16 billion to acquire Beam in a deal that would see the Japanese group become one of the top-three spirits manufacturers in the world.
The groups, which have been tied by existing distribution agreements in Asia, have entered into a deal by which Suntory will pay a 25% premium on Beam's share price.
The combined group's portfolio will comprise brands with annual net sales of $4.3bn and will include Beam's Jim Beam, Maker's Mark, Knob Creek, Teacher's, Laphroaig, Canadian Club, Courvoisier, Sauza, Pinnacle, and Suntory's Yamazaki, Hakushu, Hibiki, Kakubin, Bowmore and Midori.
Suntory has announced it will pay $16 billion to acquire Beam in a deal that would see the Japanese group become one of the top-three spirits manufacturers in the world.
The groups, which have been tied by existing distribution agreements in Asia, have entered into a deal by which Suntory will pay a 25% premium on Beam's share price.
The combined group's portfolio will comprise brands with annual net sales of $4.3bn and will include Beam's Jim Beam, Maker's Mark, Knob Creek, Teacher's, Laphroaig, Canadian Club, Courvoisier, Sauza, Pinnacle, and Suntory's Yamazaki, Hakushu, Hibiki, Kakubin, Bowmore and Midori.
The transaction has been unanimously approved by each company's board of directors and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2014, subject to Beam stockholders' approval, regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
Matt Shattock, president and chief executive officer of Beam "This is a very exciting development that delivers substantial value for our stockholders and creates an even stronger global company with an excellent platform for future growth."
"Together we will be a global leader in distilled spirits with the #3 position in premium spirits and a dynamic portfolio across key categories. With particular strength in Bourbon, Scotch, Canadian, Irish and Japanese whisky, the combined company will have unparalleled expertise and portfolio breadth in premium whisky, which is driving the fastest growth
"Our combined global routes to market will expand our joint distribution footprint, and the powerful innovation capabilities both companies have developed will be a significant advantage. Backed by the expertise and the financial resources of Suntory, the people of Beam look forward to working with the Suntory team to continue outperforming our global market and to building on the proud traditions and deep heritage of our brands across all the major spirits categories."
Nobutada Saji, president and chairman of Suntory's Board, said: "I am delighted that we can announce this agreement with Beam, a company with a portfolio of leading global brands, including Jim Beam and Maker's Mark, and a strong global distribution network.
"I believe this combination will create a spirits business with a product portfolio unmatched throughout the world and allow us to achieve further global growth. We are particularly excited about the prospect of working more closely with Beam's excellent management and employees who will play an integral part in the growth of the business."
Suntory's Beam move is just round one
Suntory's acquisition of Beam "is not the end of it by any means", leading drinks analyst Jeremy Cunnington of Euromonitor International has told
Suntory and Beam jointly announced today that a deal has been struck for $16bn.
Suntory's Beam move is just round one
Suntory's acquisition of Beam "is not the end of it by any means", leading drinks analyst Jeremy Cunnington of Euromonitor International has told
Suntory and Beam jointly announced today that a deal has been struck for $16bn.
Cunnington said: "I think the major international spirits companies will try to put a counter bid together.
CEOs of all the major companies will be humming with this news. Pernod Ricard in particular and a number of other companies will not give up without a fight. Pernod says they want to pay off their debt but they will not pass up the opportunity."
According to a joint statement from Beam and Suntory, the deal has been agreed by the companies' board of directors but will not be completed until the second quarter of 2014 as it is subject to "Beam's stockholders' approval, regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions".
"Agreed does not mean it' signed, sealed and delivered. It is subject to approval," said the Euromonitor International drinks analyst.
In the event of a counter bid, Cunnington said "Beam would have to be split up".
"There would be competition issues for many of the groups - for instance Pernod taking Larios. William Grant & Sons are cash rich and it would be a great chance to get a cognac (Courvoisier)," he said.
"For Rémy Cointreau there are competition issues with Courvoisier but they'd be interested in getting a small batch bourbon like Knob Creek. Diageo would be keen on Maker's Mark. They have Bulleit but it is 20% of the size of Maker's Mark," he said.
Cunnington said Suntory's motivation for the acquisition was to broaden its portfolio and move away from a domestic focus.
Beam Suntory is formed
May, 2014
Suntory Holdings has completed the acquisition of Beam, which will now be called Beam Suntory.
Suntory Liquors Limited, which includes Yamasaki, Hakushu, Hibiki, Kakubin, Bowmore and Midori, will be folded into the new Beam Suntory by the end of this year.
Suntory paid $83.50 per share of Beam. The combined Beam Suntory now the takes the number three position in the global premium spirits market, the company claims.
Beam Suntory will be headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois and led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Matt Shattock, who has been CEO of Beam since 2009.
Beam Suntory aims to achieve growth in markets worldwide, particularly the US with its strengthened global distribution network.
Matt Shattock, chairman & CEO of Beam Suntory said: "By combining the world leader in bourbon and Japan's leading spirits company, we have created a stronger global business with an even better premium portfolio.
"The company's portfolio is led by its flagship brands Jim Beam and Yamazaki, as well as world renown premium brands including Maker's Mark, Knob Creek, Hakushu, Hibiki, Kakubin, Teacher's, Laphroaig, Bowmore, Canadian Club, Courvoisier, Sauza, Pinnacle and Midori.
"We will be focused on continuing our momentum, growing in developed and emerging markets, and building on our combined strengths. Those strengths include a dynamic portfolio across key categories, powerful routes to market and passionate people.
"I'm particularly excited about what brings us together - a strong cultural fit based on the entrepreneurial and innovative spirit of two companies with common values and proud heritages rooted in multi-generational family businesses. We look forward to learning from each other and to creating a future of exciting growth for our business and opportunities for our people."
Nobutada Saji, president and chairman of Suntory Holdings, said: "I am very delighted with the launch of Beam Suntory, which unites Beam and Suntory's spirits businesses, and I truly believe Beam Suntory will continue to grow strongly in the global spirits industry.
"Since its founding, Suntory Group has always shared the spirit of 'Yatte Minahare - Go for it!' in taking on new challenges, creating new opportunities, and living our corporate values. Beam's heritage of over 200 years is also characterized by a spirit of entrepreneurialism, creativity and courageous decisions that exemplify the same 'Yatte Minahare' spirit.
"I believe this common spirit and our combined strengths will be a powerful driving force as the new Beam Suntory excites consumers around the world with our portfolio of premium brands. At the same time, Beam Suntory will remain true to Suntory's corporate philosophy, 'In Harmony with People and Nature,' in developing a rich experience of life based on real needs in the communities in which we do business, coexisting with people and their nature surroundings.
Beam Suntory unveils peated malts range
October, 2014
Beam Suntory has launched a collection of whiskies from its Scottish and Irish distilleries.
'Peated Malts of Distinction' features four peated malts including a new expression: The Ardmore Legacy, as the entry point to the range. It is accompanied by Ireland's Connemara Original, Islay's Laphroaig Select and Bowmore Small Batch.
The company says the new portfolio will allow both the trade and consumers to explore a variety of peat flavours and taste profiles. The portfolio launches at a buoyant time for the peated malts category which is experiencing 8%* growth rate in the EMEA region (CAGR 2011-2013).
Peated malts currently represent 17%* of total malt volume sales in EMEA, with Sweden (29%), Germany (25%) and the Netherlands (21%) accounting for more than three quarters of peated malt sales in the region.
The Ardmore Legacy is a new expression, aimed at challenging mainstream single malt brands, offering a lightly peated liquid that is sweet and uplifting, says Beam Suntory.
The launch coincides with a new identity and positioning for the brand. Appealing to whisky drinkers' experimental nature, this malt is said to offersa new flavour made from unreleased unpeated Ardmore balanced with the traditional peated malt, which is different from gentle Highland peat whiskies.
The bottle has a new label and pack design that is said to reflect the spirit of The Ardmore with an eagle and contour map of Kennethmont, the whisky's home.
Lee Walker, EMEA regional brand manager for premium malts, Beam Suntory, said: "The peated malt category is a dynamic segment demonstrating strong growth. Beam Suntory has ambitious plans to utilise its expertise and product range to further innovate and expand the category. We're in a unique position where we can offer drinkers a variety of taste experiences from gentle to rich peat, and we hope that this unique story will appeal to both novice and whisky enthusiasts the world over."
Peated Malts of Distinction are available across the on and off-trade in global markets and will be supported by global marketing communication activities from October and continue for the run up to Christmas 2014.
The Ardmore Legacy is available in the UK at RRP £29.99
Suntory Holdings is based in Osaka and operates 329 companies and employs a total of more than 37,000 people across Asia, Europe and The Americas. It has interests in the arenas of food, beverages, wine and beer, while the spirits business of Suntory is in the hands of Beam Suntory, which is headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois. It is the world’s third-largest premium spirits company behind Diageo and Pernod Ricard.
The spirits focus is very much on whisky, although the portfolio also includes the leading Cognac brand Courvoisier and Beefeater gin. In terms of whisky, Beam Suntory offers Hibiki, Yamazaki and Hakushu Japanese whiskies, produced in the company’s two distilleries at Yamazaki and Hakushu.
In the USA the company distils Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark and Knob Creek Bourbons in Kentucky and across the border Canadian Club is produced at its distillery in Windsor, Ontario. In Ireland Beam Suntory owns The Kilbeggan Distilling Company, while Scotch whisky brands are the Islay single malt duo of Bowmore and Laphroaig, along with Ardmore, Glen Garioch and Auchentoshan, and Teacher’s blended Scotch.
Suntory’s origins go back to 1899 when Shinjiro Torii established Torii Shoten and started to produce and sell wine. In 1907 the company launched Akadama Port Wine which gained great popularity. 1924 saw the construction of Yamazaki distillery, as the firm developed its whisky interests and in 1937 the breakthrough, distinctively Japanese whisky Suntory Kakubin hit the market.
In 1973 Hakushu distillery was constructed to provide additional spirits for the growing thirst for Japanese whisky, and in 1994 Suntory moved into the Scotch whisky business with its acquisition of Morrison Bowmore Distillers. It had already purchased 25% of the stocks of what was then Macallan-Glenlivet in 1986.
Another major development for the company came when it bought US-based Beam Inc in 2014, bringing with it an attractive clutch of US, Irish and Scotch whisky interests. Beam had owned the former Cooley distilling business (subsequently renamed Kilbeggan) in Ireland since 2011, having previously acquired Ardmore and Laphroig distilleries and the Teacher’s brand as part of a package of 20 spirits and wine brands purchased from Allied Domecq for $5 billion in 2005.
As a Kentucky Bourbon distilling operation, Beam can trace its origins back to 1795 when Jacob Beam sold his first barrel of whiskey. In 1935 Beam’s great grandson James began rebuilding the business following the repeal of Prohibition in the US, but sold the business, now known as the James B. Beam Distilling Company to Chicagoan Harry Blum in 1945. Come 1968 the business was acquired by American Brands, Inc (later Fortune Brands), and less than 20 years later James B. Beam Distilling Company was on its own acquisition trail, purchasing National Distillers, which included the Old Crow and Windsor brands, as well as the distribution rights for De Kuyper. Renamed Jim Beam Brands Company, the group set its sights high and in 2005 became the fourth largest spirits group in the world with the $5 billion acquisition of over 20 brands from Allied Domecq. A year later Jim Beam Brands Worldwide was renamed Beam Global Spirits & Wine.
15 Para Blend
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
Ardmore
HIGHLAND SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
Auchentoshan
LOWLAND SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
Bowmore
ISLAY SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
Clydebank
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
Glen Garioch
HIGHLAND SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
Islay Hallmark
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
Islay Legend
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
Laphroaig
ISLAY SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
McClelland's
SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
Premiers
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
Rob Roy
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
Teacher's
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
Wolf Legend
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
ASSOCIATED COMPANIES
D Johnston & Company
Destilerias y Crianzas
Morrison Bowmore Distillers
Stanley P. Morrison
William Teacher & Sons
RON WELSH, BEAM SUNTORY
February 2018
Beam Suntory master blender and strategic inventory manager Ron Welsh might never have made it into whisky, but for the decline in the steel industry. He took a job at Strathclyde grain distillery – and hasn’t left Scotch since. He tells Gavin D Smith about working with industry legends, cask experiments and his passion for rugby.
Ron Welsh worked in the steel industry before entering the world of whisky
‘I was born in Paisley, near Glasgow, and my father was financial director for what was then Coats Patons – the sewing thread manufacturer. When I was a boy Coats was still a very large employer in Paisley, with two mills still working in the town.
‘For the first six years of my life I travelled abroad a lot with my family, as my father was involved in setting up new factories in various parts of the world. In the early 1960s, when I was very young, my two brothers and I were taken to Venezuela and Argentina, and later we lived in Portugal.
‘When we came back to Scotland I finished my schooling and then studied at Strathclyde University for a chemical engineering degree. In 1983 I went into Ravenscraig Steelworks, near Motherwell, operated by British Steel.
‘There were 6,000 employees at Ravenscraig when I went there, but that had been run down quite a bit already. Latterly I was casting manager, but left in 1991 as they were running the plant down prior to closure.
‘I was lucky enough to be able to go back to university and took a Master’s Degree in information technology, but unemployment in Lanarkshire became a big problem, which continues to this day.
‘When I graduated, I looked around for an IT job, then took a shift manager’s role at Strathclyde grain distillery in Glasgow, which was owned by Allied Distillers. I was there for seven years, and worked closely with the legendary master blender Robert Hicks and with Sandy Hyslop, now Ballantine’s master blender and director of blending, on spirit quality, and began to get involved with quality control.
Ron Welsh was involved in the closure of Dumbarton grain distillery in 2002
‘I then took on a project role looking at Allied Domecq’s grain distillation capacity, mapping out the future. We had Dumbarton and Strathclyde grain distilleries, and I was partly responsible for the decision to close down Dumbarton, which happened in 2002.
‘It wasn’t a decision that was taken lightly, but there was an over-supply of grain whisky at the time and the spirit from Dumbarton was more expensive than the alternatives, partly as the distillery was quite manually intensive.
‘Robert Hicks was responsible for making changes to the brand recipes to work with Strathclyde, Girvan and North British grains. In terms of Allied’s brands at the time, we were talking principally about Ballantine’s, Teacher’s and Long John blends.
‘I then went to Kilmalid to the bulk stocks department, where I was involved with planning new fillings and cask selection for all our blends and single malts, under the tutelage of Robert. We discussed blend recipes – which malts we’d replace if and when we ran out of some – and it was a great grounding.
‘Then I got into nosing blends prior to bottling, working with samples in the lab, which led me on to the path I’m currently on. I did that from 2000 to 2005, then Pernod Ricard and Fortune Brands bought Allied Domecq, and I moved over to Fortune Brands, where I carried on pretty much the same role as previously.
Bowmore casks
Bowmore casks: Welsh has been involved with the Islay distillery since 2014
‘Before Allied was taken over, Robert Hicks had the idea of finishing some single malts in quarter casks, after initial Bourbon cask maturation, and I sourced the quarter casks from the Speyside Cooperage.
‘This was 2003/4, and we tried doing it with all the single malt brands we had at the time, but it worked best with Ardmore and Laphroaig. It gives a unique twist to a single malt, particularly peated ones like those. You get coconut notes coming over from the quarter casks, which works really well with the peat.
‘Beam was bought by Suntory in 2014, which meant Ardmore, Laphroaig and Teacher’s joined the Morrison Bowmore Distillers brands – Bowmore, Auchentoshan and Glen Garioch. A new structure was put in place, with me taking over inventory management and spirit quality, with Rachel Barrie reporting to me.
‘When Rachel was appointed master blender with BenRiach I mused on whether we should take on an established master blender or change my role so I could do it. I opted for the latter, and for me, the really exciting part of the job now is being master blender. I’ve been responsible for creating all new expressions of Laphroaig and Ardmore since 2009, and now I have the whole portfolio.
Laphroaig
Ron Welsh has created all new expressions of Laphroaig since 2009
‘With Laphroaig I came up with various new expressions, including QA Cask – finished in charred American oak casks, 1815 Edition – matured in first-fill Bourbon barrels and new European oak hogsheads, and Select – for which the cask recipe includes oloroso Sherry hogsheads, white American oak barrels, Pedro Ximénez hogsheads, quarter casks and first-fill Bourbon casks.
‘For years, Laphroaig was only filled into ex-Maker’s Mark Bourbon barrels. That was all you had. Robert Hicks started doing Quarter Cask and Triple Wood as ways of changing the profile of expressions of Laphroaig, and that continued with PX – which used American oak casks, quarter casks and Pedro Ximénez casks.
‘From 2006 I started filling Laphroaig into some different casks, and this resulted in Lore – matured in five different cask types. It was the first time we had Laphroaig that had been filled into different casks from the start, rather than just a finish, and I felt that was an achievement.
‘I’m also really pleased with Laphroaig 18-year-old. I said we should go from 15 to 18 years old, and it’s been very well-received. That was another of the expressions I developed.
‘Rachel had already created some new Bowmores, including the 15-year-old for travel retail, and I’m just carrying them forward. When it comes to Auchentoshan, it’s very easy to get new flavours through different cask types and previous contents, because of its style.
Bowmore
Sense of continuity: Welsh is carrying on Rachel Barrie’s work with Bowmore
‘I’ve developed with the winning bartenders a second edition of the Bartender’s Malt, which is due to be bottled in April, and there are another couple of new expressions I’m desperate to get out there. Chapters 3 and 4 of the Glen Garioch Renaissance at cask strength will also be bottled before too long.
‘In terms of actually drinking whisky myself, I had my first one when I was 18 in a working man’s pub in Ardrossan, Ayrshire after a wedding. It was probably Whyte & Mackay, and I didn’t have another whisky for several years after that!
‘When I did, I was working in the industry, and it was Ballantine’s 12-year-old – not at all fiery, and well-balanced. I was just an occasional whisky drinker then, and I still am, really.
‘I enjoy Bowmore 15-year-old – which used to be called Darkest, and Auchentoshan Blood Oak from its travel retail range. With Laphroaig, it has to be the 18-year-old, but it’s no longer available.
‘When I’m not working I spend time with my family – I have two school-age children – and my great passion is international rugby. I try to get to a couple of games in each Six Nations championship, so this is an exciting time of year for me.
‘The Six Nations in 2018 is there for the taking by Scotland. When they win the championship in Rome, I’m glad I’ll be there to see it!’
SUNTORY AO AIDS JAPANESE WHISKY TRANSPARENCY
2019 January
Japanese distiller Suntory is set to release a new blended ‘world whisky’ in what’s viewed as a step toward transparency in Japanese whisky.
Suntory Ao World Whisky
Clearly labelled: Suntory Ao is a blend of five whiskies from around the world
Suntory World Whisky Ao features whisky produced at the company’s distilleries in five major whisky-producing regions – Scotland, Ireland, America, Canada and Japan.
Through its US subsidiary Beam Suntory, the company owns a number of global distilleries, including Bowmore, Laphroaig and Auchentoshan in Scotland, Kilbeggan and Cooley in Ireland, and the Yamazaki and Hakushu distilleries in Japan.
Bottled at 43% abv, Ao – which means ‘blue’ in Japanese and is named for the colour of the sea – is described as having a ‘complicated and rich’ flavour which is ‘comfortably smoky’.
Set for release in April 2019, the expression will initially be available exclusively in Japan for 5000 Yen (US$50).
JAPANESE WHISKY TRANSPARENCY
The release of Suntory World Whisky Ao is thought to represent a step toward transparency for the Japanese whisky category.
Many distillers have experienced increasing demand for Japanese whiskies in the past few years, prompting some companies to remove several age stated bottlings from sale in an attempt to manage decreasing stocks.
At the same time, Japanese shelves have been flooded with an increasing number of imported whiskies purporting to be of Japanese origin, which is allowed by law.
Some of these products can be blended with up to 90% neutral spirit, and still be sold as Japanese whisky in Japan
DESTILERIAS Y CRIANZAS
Destilerias y Crianzas was established to build and operate the first whisky distillery in Spain, although for a time it owned Lochside distillery in Montrose, Scotland. The malt distillery provided DYC with whisky for its burgeoning blend, though as its own stocks matured and the company was sold on, Lochside was closed and eventually demolished.
Today DYC produces five whiskies, including a standard blend, an 8-year-old blend, a ‘pure malt’ and 10 Year Old single malt.
Businessman Nicomedes Garcia Gomez had a dream to become the first producer of Spanish whisky, and so founded Destilerias y Crianzas in 1958. The following year DYC built its first distillery in Palazuelos de Eresma in Segovia, which released its first product, DYC blended whisky, in 1963.
DYC purchased its second distillery in 1973, this time Scottish malt distillery Lochside in Montrose from Joseph Hobbs. Lochside’s malt was used as a filling for DYC’s blends, which by the following year included an 8 Year Old.
DYC was taken over by Spanish wine producer Pedro Domecq which closed Lochside, and was itself acquired by British drinks group Allied Domecq.
Upon Pernod Ricard and Fortune Brands’ takeover of Allied Domecq in 2005, DYC was transferred to Fortune, and is now a subsidiary of Beam Suntory.
MORRISON BOWMORE, het eigendom van Suntory
Auchentoshan :1.750.000 litres
Bowmore :2.000.000 litres
Glen Garioch :1.000.000 litres
Bowmore :2.000.000 litres
Glen Garioch :1.000.000 litres
Morrison Bowmore Distillers operates three Scotch malt whisky distilleries and offers four brands. It has offices in central Glasgow and bonding and bottling facilities in the Springburn area of the city. In total, the company employs 200 people.
The firm’s three distilleries are the Lowland Auchentoshan, close to Glasgow, the Highland Glen Garioch in Aberdeenshire, and Bowmore on the Isle of Islay. Each of the three has well-regarded visitor facilities.
As well as marketing a range of single malts from these distilleries, Morrison Bowmore also uses the McClelland’s name for unspecified single malt bottling from the Lowland, Highland, Islay and Speyside whisky-producing regions.
The company has its origins in the firm of Stanley P. Morrison, a whisky broking company set up in 1951 by Stanley Morrison and James Howat. A decade later the partners became involved in the blending business in association with the fledgling Invergordon Distillers, and two years later added distilling to their repertoire when they acquired Bowmore distillery for £117,000, forming Morrison Bowmore Distillers.
Glen Garioch distillery was added to the portfolio in 1970, followed by Auchentoshan in 1984, and the focus of the business changed from bulk to cased sales. In 1985 Springburn Bond was established on a 14-acre site in the north of Glasgow to consolidate the firm’s maturation and bottling functions. In 1994 the Japanese distilling giant Suntory acquired Morrison Bowmore, and in 2014 it became part of the spirits’ subsidiary Beam Suntory.
The firm of T&A McClelland was formerly a whisky blending and exporting enterprise, with origins in 1818, and it became part of Morrison Bowmore during the late 1960s.
DISTILLERIES & BRANDS
15 Para Blend
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
Argyll
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
Auchentoshan
LOWLAND SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
Bowmore
ISLAY SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
Brae Dew
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
Clanroy
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
Clydebank
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
Glen Garioch
HIGHLAND SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
I.D.S.
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
Islay Hallmark
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
Islay Legend
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
McClelland's
SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
Premiers
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
QE2
HIGHLAND SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
Rob Roy
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
Wolf Legend
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
ASSOCIATED COMPANIES
Beam Suntory (Current owner)
Beinn Bhuide Holdings
D Johnston & Company
Destilerias y Crianzas
Stanley P. Morrison
T&A McClelland
William Teacher & Sons
The Japan Spirits and Liqueurs Makers Association has announced a new set of rules and regulations for the production of Japanese whisky.
The new regulations will come into play from 1 April 2021 but producers have been given until 31 March 2024 to adhere to the new laws.
The new regulations are similar to those of scotch whisky and state that the whole production process must take place at a distillery in Japan and must be aged for at least three years, be bottled at at least 40% abv and can only use “plain caramel colouring”.
The new regulations have been long awaited for the Japanese whisky category and those brands that cannot match the criteria cannot by law label the product “Japanese whisky” or use any marketing references to Japanese history or culture.
This includes the use of the Japanese flag, famous places, landmarks and cities or anything that suggests the product satisfies the above production requirements.