Cocktail Bar · Akashi, Hyogo
Akashi
Seaside Japanese whisky from a sake and shochu house in Akashi.
- Founded
- 1888
- Based in
- Akashi, Hyogo
Making it since
1888
Their story
Akashi whisky comes from Eigashima Shuzo, a company founded in 1888 on the coast of Hyogo Prefecture in the city of Akashi. It began as a maker of sake and shochu and later added wine and umeshu.
The company received a whisky license in 1919, which is why it is often called one of Japan's oldest whisky distilleries, though regular whisky production only began in 1984 at its White Oak distillery. The first Akashi single malt came out in 2007.
How it's made
Malt whisky is distilled on site in two pot stills, a wash still and a spirit still bought from a closed distillery in Nara, using imported, lightly peated barley. The same team brews sake in winter and shochu in spring, so whisky distilling happens mainly in summer. Casks are mostly bourbon and sherry, with some sake and other casks, and the warm seaside climate matures the spirit quickly.
Why we carry them
Akashi is a good entry into Japanese whisky from a small, old house rather than a giant. We like how the sake-making side of the company shows up in its cask choices.
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