Pretty shocking announcement out of Suntory today: huge MSRP increases of 20% to as high as 125% are slated across the board for the company’s entire range of whiskies, including favorites like Hibiki, Yamazaki, and Hakushu. That means some prices are more than doubling. Yikes.
Let’s get right to it: the new prices will be in effect in the Japanese market with shipments from April 1, 2024.
| Product | Size | Old Price (JPY) | New Price (JPY) | % Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hibiki 30 | 700ml | 160,000 | 360,000 | 125％ |
| Hibiki 21 | 700ml | 32,000 | 55,000 | 72% |
| Hibiki Blender’s Choice | 700ml | 12,000 | 15,000 | 25% |
| Hibiki Japanese Harmony | 700ml | 5,500 | 7,500 | 36% |
| Yamazaki 25 | 700ml | 160,000 | 360,000 | 125％ |
| Yamazaki 18 | 700ml | 32,000 | 55,000 | 72% |
| Yamazaki 12 | 700ml | 10,000 | 15,000 | 50% |
| Yamazaki 12 | 50ml | 880 | 1,320 | 50% |
| Yamazaki NAS | 700ml | 4,500 | 7,000 | 55% |
| Yamazaki NAS | 180ml | 1,250 | 1,950 | 56% |
| Hakushu 25 | 700ml | 160,000 | 360,000 | 125％ |
| Hakushu 18 | 700ml | 32,000 | 55,000 | 72% |
| Hakushu 12 | 700ml | 10,000 | 15,000 | 50% |
| Hakushu NAS | 700ml | 4,500 | 7,000 | 55% |
| Hakushu NAS | 180ml | 1,250 | 1,950 | 56% |
| Chita | 700ml | 4,000 | 6,000 | 50% |
| Ao | 700ml | 5,000 | 6,000 | 20% |
| Ao | 350ml | 2,500 | 3,000 | 20% |
I thought Suntory kind of had our backs during this whole Japanese whisky thing? They’ve obviously been struggling to keep up with demand, but at least the MSRP was fairly reasonable. Even a 125% MSRP increase for something like Hibiki 30 is unlikely to hit the stupid prices bottles like that went for in secondary markets, but… damn.
I get it, the Japanese yen is shitty versus any currency right now, and Suntory has to secure massive amounts of imported malt/grain to supply their distilleries. That might explain some of the price increase, but probably not all of it.
Suntory’s official reason for the price increases is basically because they’ve been investing in expanding capacity at their distilleries. So, uhh, us whisky-drinking customers are paying for that massive investment into Yamazaki and Hakushu they announced for Yamazaki’s 100th anniversary.
Perhaps the only silver lining here is that those of you who have been hoarding the above-mentioned bottles may find your collections worth a bit more right now.
Yamazaki recently celebrated its 99th anniversary on November 11th. Happy birthday… to Yamazaki. Not us.
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