Kirin will stop selling one of its most popular whiskies as Japanese spirit shortage continues

Sales of more expensive substitute will continue as normal, though.

It’s hard to say whether it’s been a good year or a bad year for Japanese whisky. On the one hand, multiple makers have seen sales far exceed their expectations, as their products earn accolades around the globe and the highball boom continues going strong in Japan. But on the other hand, all the love for the Japanese spirits is proving to be too much of a good thing, as supplies are starting to run out.

The latest Japanese whisky scheduled to ride off into the peaty sunset is Kirin’s Fuji-sanroku Tarajuku Genshu 50, also known as Fuji Sanroku Tarujuku 50 Blended Whisky. Produced at Kirin’s Gotemba Distillery in Shizuoka Prefecture, not far from the foot of Mt. Fuji (hence the name), Fuji-sanroku Tarajuku Genshu 50 received a gold medal at the 2015 International Spirits Challenge. Sales remained strong after a reformulation in 2016, so strong that Kirin now says that it will run out of stock following its upcoming late-March shipments to suppliers.

The company has stated that this will not be a temporary hiatus, but an official retiring of the product due to a lack of raw materials, so if you’re keen to score a bottle, now is the time. Part of the reason for Fuji-sanroku Tarajuku Genshu 50’s success has been its reasonable price for such a high-quality beverage, as 700-milliliter (24-ounce) bottles have been selling for as little as 1,500 yen (US$13.30) in Japan, such as here through Amazon. However, with the impending scarcity, prices are likely to start moving up soon, though Kirin has said that sales of the pricier Fuji-sanroku Signature Blend, which debuted in August and goes for around 5,000 yen a bottle, will continue as normal.

The discontinuation of Fuji-sanroku Tarajuku Genshu 50 echoes the fates of rival Suntory’s hakushu 12 Year and Hibiki 17 Year whiskies, both of which disappeared from the market earlier this year. In the wake of so many shortages, perhaps all we can do is hope that Final Fantasy will take pity on us and release more of its Chocobo-labeled single-malt.

Sources: IT Media, Livedoor News/Sankei News
Top image: Kirin
Insert image: Kirin

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