Nikka Bets Japanese Whisky Boom Has Room to Run
By Reuters | 18 May, 2026

To capture more of Japan's whisky boom, the subsidiary of drinks giant Asahi Group spent 7 billion yen ($45 million) upgrading its historic Yoichi distillery on the snowy northern island of Hokkaido, with expanded production coming online next year.

The Nikka Whisky Distilling President and CEO Naoto Ono speaks during an interview with Reuters, in Tokyo, Japan May 15, 2026. REUTERS/Kentaro Okasaka

Nikka Whisky is betting the Japanese whisky boom has further to run, spending big on capital investment and setting a long-term sales target that would eventually quadruple its current revenue, president Naoto Ono said.

The subsidiary of drinks giant Asahi Group spent 7 billion yen ($45 million) upgrading its historic Yoichi distillery on the snowy northern island of Hokkaido, with expanded production coming online next year. It has set a target of 100 billion yen ($629.60 million) in annual sales by 2034, roughly double its 2023 figure of 53.4 billion yen, with a longer-term goal of 200 billion yen by around 2040.

"Because it's whisky, it has to be aged, so what we make now doesn't immediately go out into the world," Ono said in an interview. "We are making large investments now with the future in mind."

Nikka's sales have grown from 27.3 billion yen in 2013 to 59.7 billion yen last year, a trajectory interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit demand from bars and restaurants. Its products are now sold in more than 65 countries, with the United States its largest overseas market by volume. Wide-ranging and frequently shifting import tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump last year have not materially affected Nikka’s sales, Ono said.

Japanese single malts and blended whiskies started racking up international awards around 2008, sparking intense global demand that effectively drank the supply dry by around 2015. The shortage sent prices sharply higher, prompting established makers in Japan to invest in expansion and inviting dozens of small-batch distillers into the market. Suntory, Japan's biggest whisky maker, announced a 10 billion yen investment in 2023 to upgrade its distilleries, including its flagship Yamazaki site.

Nikka's Yoichi distillery was established in 1934 by company founder Masataka Taketsuru, known as the "father of Japanese whisky." A new barrel-making facility will be completed in July, and ongoing construction of new warehouses will increase storage and ageing capacity by roughly 30% compared to 2019 levels.

The increase in supply in Japanese whisky now shifts the risk toward a glut in the market. Even so, the premium status of the liquor and its still small share in the global spirits landscape provide the potential for growth, said Ono, who rose to the president role at Nikka in March 2025 after more than 20 years in the Asahi group.

"As an ambition, we want to enter the global top 10," Ono said. "When overseas customers are asked what whisky is, unless Nikka comes up around number 10, I don't think we will have accomplished our goal."

($1 = 158.8300 yen)

(Reporting by Rocky Swift; Editing by Stephen Coates)