Rare Japanese whisky retailer launches online

A new international online Japanese whisky retailer has launched offering what it claims is the “largest and most varied stock of rare and old” expressions.

Dekanta.com offers Japanese and Scotch whiskies, many of which were made exclusively for the Japanese market

Dekanta.com went live earlier this week and aims to capitalise on the growing demand for collectable Japanese whiskies, listing variants which have never before been available outside of Japan.

The retailer also offers Scotch whisky originally made exclusively for the Japanese market, featuring Japan-inspired labels.

Dekanta.com is written in English and features sections on Japanese whisky history as well as the latest distillery information.

The business, located in Japan, is described as “family owned and family run”, whose founders have been selling collectables since 1985.

“We have one of the world’s largest and most varied stock of Japanese whisky,” a statement from the company read. “We only sell Japanese whisky or whisky that has been made exclusively for Japan. Yamazaki, Karuizawa, Nikka and Hakushu are just a few.”

Dekanta.com has more than 10 full-time staff in Japan, and English speaking call centres and warehouses in Japan and the UK, as well as collection offices in Macau.

Demand for Japanese whisky has soared on the first and second-hand market across the globe in recent years, with a number of auction houses boasting record interest.

It was revealed in February this year that Nikka had “shattered sales records” in its 80^th anniversary year, as European sales of the brand topped one million bottles for the first time.

Meanwhile, whisky expert Jim Murray named Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2013 the “world’s best whisky” in his Whisky Bible 2015.