Located in the small town of Akashi on the coast of the Seto Inland Sea, Eigashima (owner of the distillery) has been making traditional Japanese alcohols like sake and shochu since 1888. Intrigued by the projects and experiments of other Japanese distilleries, they began making plans for whisky distillation as early as 1919. Eigashima eventually became the first distillery in Japan to obtain a license for distilling whisky.
After several attempts at their former premises, they began construction on the current Eigashima Distillery (formerly White Oak) in 1984. Designed after its Scottish counterparts, the distillery is ideal for making refined whiskies in small quantities. Most of the production is done by hand, and by the same local artisans who specialize in more traditional Japanese spirits.
Equipped with time-honored know-how, these artisans are able to make one-of-a-kind products that have little in common with regular Scotch whiskies. The climate also makes a difference, with temperatures that fluctuate widely between the summer and winter, thus speeding up the aging process. With Japanese whiskies now all the rage, we look forward to discovering the new expressions of this distillery.
