Verified from Japan
Japanese sake and whisky, checked at the source.
English guides to Japanese drinks are copied from one another and left to rot. We work from the Japanese material — tax-agency definitions, industry labelling standards, brewery and distillery sources — and put the date we last checked on every page.
- Researched in Japanese
- Primary sources, not other English blogs. If a rule changed, we read the rule.
- Dated, never “definitive”
- Retailers rebrand and prices move. Every guide shows when we last verified it.
- No paid placements
- We earn affiliate commission and never payment for a review or a ranking position.
The guide most people are getting wrong
Japanese whiskyJapanese whiskyJapanese whisky prices in 2026: list prices went up, resale prices went down
Two opposite things happened to Japanese whisky pricing at once. Here is what it means for anyone who wants to drink it rather than flip it.
Recently verified
Japanese whiskyA Japanese whisky gift guide by budget — and the delivery rules nobody mentions
What to give at $50, $100 and $200, why the famous bottles are the weakest gifts right now, and the shipping rules that quietly ruin alcohol presents.
Buying & shippingHow much import duty will you actually pay on a bottle from Japan?
Work out the real landed cost before you order. The UK formula with current rates, how the US differs, and the mistake that makes a bargain disappear.
Japanese whiskyHow to make a Japanese highball at home
The ratio, the ice, the glass and the stir. Why the Japanese version tastes different from whisky and soda, and which bottle to use.
SakeHow to store sake: before opening, after opening, and the one bottle that cannot wait
Sake is closer to wine than to whisky. Where to keep it, how long it really lasts, and why an opened bottle on the shelf is the most common mistake.
Japanese whiskyIs your Japanese whisky actually Japanese? How to check before you spend $200
The 2021 labelling standard, why it is still voluntary, and four checks that tell you whether a bottle is really Japanese whisky.
Japanese whiskyJapan's new whisky distilleries: where the interesting drinking is now
Kanosuke, Yuza, Saburomaru, Shizuoka, Akkeshi. Who they are, what makes each one different, and why they are better value than the famous names.
Browse by topic
Sake
How Japanese sake is classified, what the numbers on the label mean, and how to pick a bottle you will actually enjoy — written from the Japanese sources.
9 guidesJapanese whisky
The labelling standard, how to tell a genuine Japanese whisky from a world blend, and which bottles earn their price now that the market has cooled.
9 guides
Buying & shipping
Which shops can legally ship to your country, what import duty costs you, and how to avoid the counterfeit problem at the top of the market.
Shop directoryWhere can you actually buy it?
Alcohol shipping is decided country by country, and in the US state by state. Pick your region — we only show shops that can legally reach you.
- dekantāJapan-based specialist. Ships to 127 countries, including bottles that never reach Western shelves.Visit site →
- Palate ProjectFormerly Tippsy Sake. The largest online sake store in the US, curated by a team in Japan.Visit site →
- FlaviarMembers club with tasting boxes and a large Japanese whisky range. Best value if you buy more than twice a year.Visit site →
Showing shops that deliver to US. Some links are affiliate links — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Disclosure.