The Suntory press release that’s got the industry buzzing!

With whisky on the rise as a popular drink throughout the world, take it as it comes whether there are more people to drink with or the demand is going up. Sadly for some countries, this means a whisky can sell out or quickly disappear because demand has outstripped supply. Or, to differentiate effects in the industry, the whisky distilleries increase their prices.

In a surprise announcement made this month, the Japanese drink manufacturer Suntory has announced a 28% increase in domestic pricing on certain in-house and imported whisky products, which will come into effect as of spring 2022. Suntory is a company trading within the whisky industry, investing in additional casks and storage facilities in an attempt to meet increasing demand. Certain brands in Japan have already felt the ripple effect of this announcement, with Glenfiddich 12’s pricing taking a 15% rise. This ripple will affect international markets, from bottles to casks long into 2022, indicating an investment in the right whisky casks could see positive results.

Casual whisky drinkers in Japan will still be able to enjoy Suntory’s cheaper products as price increases to the lower end of the market will not be much. With a full list of price changes and the products affected, midrange pricing will see rises of less than 15%. One of the products includes Suntory’s 700ml Yamazaki bottle, which will see a change of 7%. However! The more expensive high-end market will see the biggest jumps with a 25 year Yamazaki taking a huge price rise from 125,000 yen to 160,000 yen. Others in the list will see 30-year and 21-year Hibiki, 18-year Yamazaki, 25-year and 18-year Shirasu taking the price rise.

Where it becomes interesting, the list also includes 30-year Macallan Sherry Oak, Scottish whisky brands Glenfiddich, Balvenie, Macallan and the Irish whisky Tullamore D.E.W, which Suntory has a monopoly on importing to Japan will see prices jump by 28%. The new pricing will come into effect at the beginning of April 2022. Therefore if you want to increase or start a portfolio of whisky cask investment in readiness, the conditions could move favourably above normal and that’s worth raising a tumbler to this Christmas.