Akkeshi Japanese Single Malt Whisky From The North

With the demand for Japanese single malts at an unprecedented high, it's not only the established sites that are increasing their production - there are a number of new producers doing some very exciting things.

Enter Akkeshi.

Akkeshi began distilling in 2016 amongst this swathe of “new” Japanese distilleries. Based in the Akkeshi District of Hokkaido, the concept of distilling and maturing single malt in Japan’s northern wilderness traces back to the very first plans of Masataka Taketsuru, a pioneer of the country’s early whisky production.

Indeed, the distillery is inspired by the heavier styles of Scotch whisky, particularly those from Islay. It is owned by Kenten Co, an import-export company and CEO Keichi Toita is a known whisky aficionado. He was behind the distillery’s location and style and the distillery is believed to be wholly backed by Kenten, meaning they don’t have to answer to any outside parties.

Akkeshi features a pair of pot stills from Forsyths, a 5,000 litre wash still and 3,600 litre spirit still. They are steam heated and feature declining lyne arms into shell-and-tube condensers. To the eye they are very Islay-esque.

They have two warehouses at the distillery site and two closer to the sea so that they can see the differences in the maturation environments.

The timeline of releases:

Akkeshi ‘New Born’ Foundations 1 (February 2018)

A vatting of non-peated malts matured for 5-14 months in fist-fill bourbon casks. Bottled at 60%

Akkeshi ‘New Born’ Foundations 2 (August 2018)

The first peated preview, a vatting of peated malts matured between 8-17 months in first-fill bourbon casks. Bottled at 58%

Akkeshi ‘New Born’ Foundations 3 (March 2019)

Vatting of non-peated malts matured between 8-23 months in Mizunara casks. The first release matured exclusively in locally-grown Mizunara oak. Bottled at 55%.

Akkeshi ‘New Born’ Foundations 4 (August 2019)

Malt and grain blend matured in sherry and other casks for 13-30 months. The malt component is from Akkeshi, the grain from a Scottish grain distillery. Bottled at 60%.

Akkeshi Sarorunkamuy First Single Malt (2020)

The first single malt from the distillery.

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Wondering when Japanese whisky will have the supply to match the demand? 2030 according to Stefan Van Eckyen, when we spoke to him last year: