Akkeshi Distillery” has been recognized worldwide and is becoming more and more well-known day by day.
This time, we would like to introduce ” Akkeshi NEW BORN FOUNDATIONS 3″, which was released on March 5 this year.
The NEW BORN series, which conveys the “present state of the Akkeshi Distillery” to whisky lovers in advance of the upcoming official commercialization, is planned to have a total of four installments, and the first, second, and third installments have already been released.
The fourth series is scheduled to be released in August this year.
Akkeshi NEW BORN FOUNDATIONS 1 bourbon barrel non-peat (released on 2/27/2018)
Akkeshi NEW BORN FOUNDATIONS 2 Bourbon Barrel Peated (released on 8/28/2018)
Akkeshi NEW BORN FOUNDATIONS 3 Mizunara (released on 3/5/2019)
Akkeshi NEW BORN FOUNDATIONS 4 Blended (to be released on 8/XX/2019)
The flavor of whisky varies greatly depending on the cask in which it is aged, and while used foreign-made casks used in the production of bourbon and sherry are generally used, this third release is characterized by being aged in precious Mizunara oak casks from within Hokkaido. Mizunara oak barrels are popular among whiskey connoisseurs because of the unique incense-like aroma they are said to impart.
1. Company
Kenken Jitsugyo Co.
2. Distillery
Akkeshi Distillery
(Started operation in 2016)
- Second Whisky Distillery in Hokkaido Aims to Make Whisky Like Islay Malt
The Akkeshi distillery opened in 2016 with a strong desire to “make whisky like Islay malt using the traditional Scottish process. The equipment is made by Forsyth’s of Scotland.
Like the whisky production on the island of Islay, the distillery uses water that has passed through a peat layer as its brewing water, and the whisky is matured daily in the cool, humid, and sea breezes of Akkeshi.4-109-2 Miyazono, Akkeshi-cho, Akkeshi-gun, Hokkaido 088-1124, Japan
Kaken Jitsugyo Corporation Akkeshi Distillery
*Tours of the distillery are organized by the Akkeshi Taste Terminal Conchigliere.
For more information, please see this page.
３．Product Name
Akkeshi NEW BORN FOUNDATIONS 3
４．Characteristics
Blended with non-peated whisky aged 8-23 months in new oak barrels from Hokkaido, Japan
The third Newborn, sent to the world by the Akkeshi Distillery, which began production in November 2016 in response to fan demand, is a blend of non-peated original spirit aged for 8 to 23 months in new Hokkaido Mizunara oak barrels, also known as Japanese oak by overseas malt fans. The release is titled “Newborn” because in Europe it cannot be called a whisky if it has been aged less than three years, although it is considered a whisky by domestic law.
The Akkeshi Distillery’s “Newborn” series is a four-part series. This is the third in the series, and the first in the series to be aged in Mizunara oak barrels. A dozen barrels were selected from the original whisky aged for 8 to 23 months in Mizunara oak barrels from Hokkaido, and blended on December 5, 2018. It is an unprecedented new bone with a complex aroma containing citrus aromas and an oriental flavor derived from Quercus crispula.
This is a superb product with a rich flavor mixed with citrus and other fruits, and an intoxicatingly dense aroma unique to Quercus crispula. If you have tasted the first and second versions, you will be able to enjoy the differences as well.
The tasting notes on the manufacturer’s website are as follows
Nose: Sweet aroma of brown sugar, vanilla, and fresh melon, with spicy notes of nutmeg.
Taste: bitter chocolate, sugar syrup, and tangerine-like taste.
Aftertaste: white pepper pepper, bitter chocolate sweetness, slight woody note
Type: Single Malt
Ingredients: Non-peated malt
Alcohol content: 55%.
５．Awards
６．Price
Retail price: 5,800 yen (6,264 yen including tax)
Capacity: 200 ml
A check of sales on mail order sites such as Rakuten and amazon shows that the product is priced between 8,000 yen and 11,000 yen, already at a premium of about 1.5 times the regular price. (As of March 26, 2019)
Prices at DiningBar Hidden Lounge
At DiningBar Hidden Lounge, we serve this whisky for 4500 yen for 45ml
30ml: 3000 yen
15ml: 1500 yen
The whisky is available for sale at the following prices
７．Finally
Akkeshi NEW BORN FOUNDATIONS is made from “non peat malt,” which is dried barley malt without using peat, and aged in bourbon casks. It goes well with oysters, a specialty of the town of Akkeshi, and a few drops on raw oysters on the shell will harmonize the tastes of both and give them an aroma of the sea.
This way of enjoying oysters is also a familiar custom on Islay. Why don’t you try this luxurious experience in the holy land of scotch?
The ideal distillery of the Akkeshi Distillery is to produce whisky entirely from Akkeshi, from the barley and peat used to make the whisky to the barrels in which the whisky is matured.
In 2020, a full-fledged single malt whisky is finally scheduled to make its debut. Expectations for the future development of ” Akkeshi Whisky” are only getting higher and higher.
