The shockwaves are reverberating through the Japanese whisky enthusiast community. Asahi Breweries, the owner of Nikka Whisky, just announced the return. 

It’s been seven years since Nikka discontinued its Yoichi and Miyagikyo age-statement lineups. Suntory also canceled Hibiki 12 that year. And the combined losses sparked a buying frenzy and endless retailer markups. 

So the return of Yoichi 10 is a big deal. In 2001, it won the “Best of the Best” award in a Whisky Magazine blind tasting. There was some heavyweight competition from Scotland. And this award was the first of a series of prizes awarded to Japanese whisky. 

The remaining 700ml bottles of the original Yoichi 10 sell for around $700-$1300. The new bottles will be for sale in Hokkaido starting July 26th for 8,000 yen (about $58). On November 15th, the Yoichi will be available nationally in Japan. But it appears that sales will be primarily at Nikka’s distilleries which explains the crazy low price.

In reality, once retailers get their hands on bottles, anything goes. The actual retail price for the 9,000 annual bottles will be much higher at first. But my hunch is that it will be wise to wait. Prices of hot releases tend to level off. And this is true in the US. So keep that in mind when Yoichi 10 finally hits the States. 

Until that happens, Nikka is still offering the tasty Yoichi NAS. No word if it will be discontinued–yet. My guess is no. But if you’re a speculator, now is a good time to buy a few bottles. If it were discontinued, the price would increase.

And one final note for now: it’s safe to assume that a Miyagikyo 10 follows soon.

Here’s the 7/2022 press release in Japanese.