In current years, Japanese whisky has exploded in recognition internationally. Even for those who’re a seasoned veteran of Japan’s pub and bar circuit, for those who stroll right into a liquor retailer abroad you is perhaps shocked at what number of manufacturers of Japanese whisky they provide that you just’ve by no means seen earlier than.
However, this proliferation of Japanese whisky choices exterior Japan isn’t as a result of importers are a step forward of anybody else. It’s as a result of plenty of the “Japanese whisky” you should buy abroad isn’t truly Japanese whisky in any respect, within the sense that it wasn’t totally produced in Japan. Piggybacking on the success and worldwide recognition of real Japanese distilleries, there’s now an entire sub-industry of corporations that merely bottle or mix imported whiskies at services in Japan, then export it on the market abroad, usually with gaudy packaging touting how very “Japanese!” it’s.
The Japan Spirits and Liqueurs Makers Association, an {industry} group with 104 members, has determined that sufficient is sufficient and is taking steps to place a cease to the deliberately deceptive presentation of such whiskies. On March 27, the affiliation introduced its newest countermeasure because it unveiled a brand new labeling mark to be positioned on merchandise that meet the group’s standards for genuine Japanese whisky.
Image: Japan Spirits and Liqueurs Makers Association
The emblem consists of the letters JW stylistically stamped on the highest of a whisky cask, together with the designation Japanese whisky and the initials of the Japan Spirits and Liqueurs Makers Association. To qualify to be used of the logo, the next circumstances have to be met:
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Malted grains have to be used, and uncooked elements have to be restricted to malted grains, different cereal grains, and water. The water used have to be extracted in Japan.
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Saccharification, fermentation, and distillation have to be carried out at a distillery in Japan.
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The distilled product have to be aged for at the very least three years inside Japan in picket casks not exceeding 700 liters in dimension.
- Bottling should happen in Japan, with alcoholic energy of at the very least 40 % on the time.
These circumstances had been first codified by the JSLMA in 2021, however with a lenient provision of three years for whisky sellers to revise their packaging. However, because the JSLMA is a commerce affiliation, it doesn’t have the authority to compel corporations to adjust to its guidelines, so it’s at the moment nonetheless authorized for corporations to bottle imported whisky in Japan and label it as “Japanese whisky.” What the JSLMA can do, although, is deny utilization of its seal of approval to corporations who don’t adhere to its definition of Japanese whisky, signaling to customers abroad that with out the JW mark, it in all probability isn’t what they’re considering of once they hear “Japanese whisky.”
“By having JSLMA members apply this logo to their products that comply with the industry standards, the association hopes to raise awareness of Japanese whisky both in Japan and abroad while also making it easier for consumers to distinguish it from other types of whisky,” says the group in its announcement of the logo.
The assertion additionally specifies that that is a part of the JSLMA’s “ongoing efforts to make their industry standards into a legally binding definition, as they begin preparation for Geographical Indication (GI) status application,” which, if granted, would apply official authorized penalties in opposition to corporations that label their merchandise as “Japanese whisky” with out assembly its standards, much like the protected standing of “champagne,” versus “sparkling wine” in some jurisdictions.
Source: Japan Spirits and Liqueurs Makers Association by way of Yomiuri Shimbun
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