Rumors began swirling last week that Nikka would be killing off their age-statement Taketsuru 17, 21, and 25 blended whiskies. Those rumors turned out to be true.
The headline unfortunately says it all here. Several major Japanese news outlets — on a Sunday night! — are now reporting that Nikka is indeed putting down Taketsuru 17, 21, and 25. They also plan a renewal of their NAS Taketsuru. A report distributed by Nikka to retailers confirmed the news.
Nikka has stated that Taketsuru 17, 21, and 25 will not be offered at all, with final shipments scheduled for March 2020. That’s to say that the removal of the products from their lineup is planned to be more or less permanent, i.e. this is not just a temporary sales suspension. (Note: this is purely in regards to the Japanese domestic market. International markets could be a different story, but don’t get your hopes up).
For their part, Nikka has been scrambling to expand capacity to keep the juice flowing. In two separate announcements last year, they revealed expansion plans for both their Miyagikyo Distillery and their Yoichi Distillery. But this is whisky we’re talking about — Nikka themselves target to resolve the shortage is 2030.
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