White Oak Distillery Akashi Single Malt Whisky, Japan

A light and delicate Japanese Single Malt from a legendary producer.
 
Eigashima Shuzo Ltd. is a small company with a HUGE history — but you have to dig a bit to find it. This family business was established in 1679, and was one of the most important businesses in Japan during the Meiji Period. Real Samurai, Shogun, Ninjas, and Japanese Emperors drank their products. They started making Sake and Shochu in 1888. And even thought they received a license to make Whiskey in 1919, they didn’t start using it until 1984 — initially just for local consumption. They make a wide range of traditional Japanese beverages and Whiskies in their White Oak Distillery, located along the sea-shore about twenty-five miles west of Osaka in the town of Hyogo.
 
Ten months out of each year, the White Oak Distillery produces Sake and Shochu exclusively. So all of their Whisky production happens in just two months. Eigashima’s most popular Whisky is their Akashi Blend. But they also produce a few precious runs of their Akashi Single Malt — which is then divided up between their finished-woods and Whisky blends. That means that there is jut not a lot of this dram to go around. Technically, it’s a marriage of their Single Malt in three different agings — seven, five, and four year-old — from three different cask types — Spanish Sherry, New American Oak, and ex-Bourbon. It’s bottled at a perfect 46% ABV.
 
Smartass Corner:
Bottles of Whiskies created by neighborhood distilleries for local consumption are called "ji-whisky." The Japanese word "ji" means "local."