Japanese whisky fans around the globe will be delighted to hear that drinks giant, Nikka, responsible for whisky from the Yoichi and Miyagikyo Distilleries, as well as world blended expressions including the hugely popular Nikka From The Barrel, have just announced the return of one of their finest age statement whiskies – the Yoichi 10 Year Old.

It’s been years since this whisky was in production, having been discontinued at the beginning of the now well-documented Japanese whisky shortage. Nikka were one of the worst hit by the supply/demand issues at the time and they quickly stopped producing a number of expressions, particularly those that featured an age-statement.

The return of the wonderful Yoichi 10 is great news for whisky fans for a couple of reasons – firstly, it’s a superb expression that we really have missed, and secondly, and perhaps most importantly, this could be a sign that this is the beginning of the end of whisky shortage, at least as far as Nikka are concerned.

Prior to its discontinuation, the Yoichi 10 Year Old was a firm fan favourite among lovers of Japanese whisky the world over. It was the flagship age-statement bottle from Nikka’s first distillery, built by the great Masataka Taketsuru in 1939, and it was regularly enjoyed by thousands of people inside of Japan and overseas.

Now that it has returned, you must be wondering if it will be as good as it was before. Well, we’re happy to tell you the Yoichi 10 is returning in all of its glory.

You can expect plenty of fruits on the nose, with dried berries, gentle poached pears and sweet peach combining perfectly with hints of vanilla, nutmeg and building peat smoke. The palate arrives with more peat smoke that is followed by soft oak and more juicy fruits, before the finish lasts for a medium length with rich oak, peat and creamy vanilla.

It’s a truly expertly crafted expression that we can’t wait to get our hands on once again.

The Yoichi 10 is set to make its return to the distillery store in Hokkaido in late July, but will be available nationally from November onwards.

At dekanta, we’d like to ensure everyone can get their hands on this fine release, and as such we’ll be offering worldwide shipping on a limited number of bottles from the beginning of December.

If you’d like to ensure you’re one of the first to get your hands on this returning legend of Japanese whisky, you can pre-order online today and we’ll deliver direct to your door upon release.