Japan: Kirin Brewery aims to double sales of imported whiskey by 2020

Kirin Brewery aims to double sales of imported whiskey by 2020, the company said on July 5, hoping to quench the thirst of drinkers who have taken a liking to highballs as Japanese distillers experience whiskey shortages, Nikkei Asian Review reported.

The Kirin Holdings group company in August will add Johnnie Walker Green Label to the Scotch whiskies it imports from British distiller Diageo. Kirin, which sold 560,000 cases of Johnnie Walker Scotch whiskey in 2015, looks to at least double sales volume by 2020 with the addition of the higher-priced Green Label.

Other Japanese companies also are boosting whiskey imports. Suntory Spirits recently upped its 2016 sales target for Jim Beam bourbon from 500,000 cases to 550,000. The popularity of highballs helped boost January-June sales 49% above the year-ago period. By the end of 2016, the company aims to stock Jim Beam in 40,000 drinking establishments, up 60% from the end of last year.

Asahi Breweries will add an upscale Jack Daniel's whiskey July 26 that the company priced four times higher than the other Jack Daniel's products it imports from the U.S. distiller. Asahi sold 240,000 cases of Jack Daniel's products in 2015, and January-June sales were 14% higher than in the same period last year.

10 July, 2016