About
Whisky From Japan is an English-language database for one awkward part of Japanese whisky: buying information changes depending on what kind of price, classification, or access claim you are looking at.
What the database is for
We separate official Japanese suggested prices from observed shop prices, airport duty-free listings, overseas observations and static FX conversions. We also separate a bottle's producer identity from its Japanese-whisky classification, and a distillery's existence from whether visitors can currently book access.
Source-ready is different from catalogued
A bottle can be present in the database before its research is finished. The URL stays available for browsing, but the individual page is kept out of search until an official producer/product URL is stored. Distillery detail pages use the same principle: official visitor/access provenance is required for search indexing.
Where the numbers come from
- MSRP, observed shop prices, airport duty-free prices and overseas prices are separate data types. We only treat a price as source-verified when its record carries a checkable source URL.
- Legacy 100-point editorial ratings are not used as a primary search, recommendation or ranking signal.
- Legacy flavour scores may remain in the dataset for compatibility, but they are not presented as measured product facts.
What we will not do
- Turn an unsourced editorial Japan price into a current shelf claim.
- Call MSRP a duty-free or transaction price.
- Calculate a Japan-versus-overseas markup unless both sides are dated observed prices with checkable sources.
- Present a JSLMA classification as verified without a bottle-specific producer or standards source.
- Use legacy 100-point scores or flavor-distance math as authoritative recommendations.
- Recommend a bottle because it pays better. See our disclosure.
Corrections
Prices, allocations and visitor rules change. If a source is stale or a record is wrong, use the contact page; corrections should update the date and provenance, not quietly preserve an old claim.