Sasanokawa Shuzo was issued Tohoku’s first whisky-making license in 1946. It was recently reborn and refurbished in 2016 as the Asaka Distillery. Today we take a look at what to expect from this historical maker. Asaka Distillery isn’t completely new. Behind the distillery is a company called Sasanokawa Shuzo, who has been in the alcohol business since 1765. In 1946, they jumped into whisky production — or at least what “whisky production” meant in Japan in those days. The company hit their stride in the 1980s with Cherry Whisky, relying heavily on imported Scotch whisky and molasses-based spirit. They were Tohoku’s premier “Ji-whisky” producer at the time. After that particular whisky boom was over, Sasanokawa Shuzo more or less called it quits on distilling their own whisky at the Yamazakura Distillery. They had plenty of stock maturing on-site as well. Even though they weren’t making their own whisky at the time, the company famously came to the rescue of Ichiro Akuto, who needed a place to store about 400 casks of Hanyu in 2004.
SINGLE MALT WHISKY
Ingredient: Malt
Alcohol: 43%
Location: Fukushima, Japan
Feature: This product is non-peated Japanese single malt whisky produced at Asaka distillery. We carefully selected and used the bourbon barrel first fill which was aged for more than 3 years in a climate with severe temperature differences. It has a complex and profound taste with a fresh, young, fruity aroma. You can also feel the lingering scent of citrus.