Nikka Whisky's first distillery and guardian of their tradition, Yoichi is located on the coast of Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan.
Over the past decade, Japanese whisky exploded in popularity and age statements disappeared from labels. Distilleries blamed unexpected demand outpacing supply for this, and began releasing non-age statement expressions to keep the whisky flowing. But Nikka, the second biggest Japanese whisky brand after Suntory, just announced that it’s bringing back a 10-year-old age statement to its Yoichi single malt—something Japanese whisky fans will be very happy about.
Nikka first removed its 10, 12, and 15-year-old age statements from Yoichi nearly a decade ago in 2015 (Yoichi is one of the two distilleries operated by Nikka, the other being Miyagikyo). Then in 2019, Nikka removed the 17, 21 and 25-year-old age statements from its Taketsuru Pure Malt, a blend of malt whisky from different distilleries. So the return of Yoichi Single Malt 10-Year-Old is a big step for Nikka, which increased production by 20 percent starting in 2019 and announced plans to surpass its 1983 peak by the year 2025.