Nikka discontinuing their entire single malt line-up!

I have heard rumors of this development for some time now, but I guess I did not really want to believe it was true. It is time to remove the blindfold, however, and face the facts. Stefan Van Eycken over at the excellent whisky blog Nonjatta yesterday posted a post that explains all the details on this matter. Here is a short quote:

Nikka is discontinuing their entire single-malt line-up, for both Yoichi and Miyagikyo. That means: no more 10 yo, no more 12 yo, no more 15 yo, no more 20 yo and no more NAS versions of these two as we know them.

On September 1st, Nikka is replacing this entire line-up with two new NAS versions of Yoichi and Miyagikyo, which will differ slightly in profile (read: contain younger components) than the NAS versions hitherto available.

For the entire article go here. There's a lot more details and clarifications in the full article. Stefan explains why Nikka is more or less forced into making this change.

We have already for some time seen that Nikka whiskies are getting harder to get her in Norway and in Sweden, except for the Nikka Taketsuru range. The Taketsuru range will be the main focus for Nikka moving forward, so we can actually see hints of this change having been in place for some time. Luckily the absolutely brilliant Nikka Wisky From the Barrel will still be available, as will Nikka Coffey Grain and Nikka Coffey Malt.

Please also note that Nikka has announced a significant price increase in Japan for all the expressions that will be available from September 1. The increase will be up to 50 % (Nikka Taketsuru 21 YO). I am sure we will see similar increase in prices in our part of the whisky world as well.

I think this is all very sad news, as I am a big fan of the single malts from both of the Nikka distilleries, but we also have to commend Nikka for being so honest and straightforward about the whole thing. There's no sneaking about here, they tell it like it is.

At the time of writing this post you can still order the following Nikka single malts in Sweden; NAS, 1o YO, 12 YO and 15 YO of both Yoichi and Miyagikyo. The 20 YO is sold out for both. In Norway you can still buy the NAS, 10 YO, 12 YO and 15 YO Miyagikyo, and the 10 YO and 15 YO of the Yoichi.

Please note that the current price level of Nikka whisky in Sweden is about 30-40 % higher than in Norway. I guess the EU import tariffs come into play here.

Here are some relevant Nikka reviews we have posted on Whisky Saga previously:

• Visiting Nikka Yoichi Distillery
• Nikka Miyagikyo range (NAS, 10 YO, 12 YO and 15 YO reviewed)
• Nikka Yoichi 15 YO
• Nikka Yoichi 10 YO
• Nikka Taketsuru 17 YO

Sláinte! - Thomas