Thank you very much for your patronage of Toranomon BAR Shinkai.
I recently visited “Whisky Festival 2019 ” held at Belle Salle Takadanobaba to get the latest Japanese whisky information, and would like to report on the day.
At the Whisky Festival, there were many domestic and foreign “whiskey makers,” BAR food “food makers,” and “BAR tool makers” exhibiting their products.
The admission fee was 5,000 yen, but with the exception of the expensive whisky, you could sample the whisky at any booth, so the event was worth more than 5,000 yen, and many general visitors other than those from the restaurant industry also came.
The main purpose of this year’s event was to confirm the “latest situation of Japanese whisky,” which is one of our main selling points. Of course, I checked out all the foreign whiskies, but my impression was that the booths of Japanese whisky makers were very active.
Now, I would like to report.
１．Suntory
Suntory, Japan’s most famous whisky maker, this year’s topic was their new 2019 product, Heki Ao. The recently released Essence series was also placed on the table for a paid tasting. The well-known Macallan, Glenfiddich, Bowmore, and other popular items were also on display at the booth.
*BAR Shinkai carries Heki Ao, Suntory Essence Series, Yamazaki NV-18 years, Hakushu NV-18 years, Hibiki 17 years, Hibiki Japanese Harmony, Hibiki Blender’s Choice, and Chita.
２．Kirin（Fuji Sanroku）
At Kirin’s booth, Fuji Sanroku from Fuji Gotemba Distillery was introduced; Fuji Sanroku’s reasonably priced white label product has been discontinued and now only the black label Fuji Sanroku Signature Blend is available.
At the Kirin booth, there was a performance where visitors were allowed to drink Fuji-Sanroku straight out of the barrel.
Fuji-Sanroku, Fuji-Sanroku Signature Blend, and Fuji-Sanroku 18nen are available at BAR Shinkai.
３．Akkeshi Distillery（Kenten Jitugyo）
“Akkeshi” is a distillery that is already familiar to us and attracting a lot of attention in our store.
Akkeshi Newborn Foundation４ has just been released, completing the Newborn series, and a “white bottle” of the new “Saron Kamuy,” which will finally be released as a “whiskey” next February, was on display.
The new product for February was also to be released in small 200 ml bottles. The contents are blended.
Mr. Tatuzaki, the director of the distillery, who had helped us when we visited his distillery, was also at the booth. I was able to talk with him for a short while, but since other visitors were holding back in hopes of exchanging business cards, I had to excuse myself with just a greeting.
For a more detailed article on the Akkeshi distillery, please see this distillery tour article.
※BAR Shinkai handles all Akkeshi Newborn Foundation 1-4.
４．Kanosuke Distillery （Komasa Jyouzou）
The Kanosuke Distillery by Komasa Jyouzou of Kagoshima was also on display.
In addition to the two Newborn series products that have been released so far, there were also freshly distilled new pots, several exhibition-only (?) Newborn casks, as well as gins and shochu. There were also several types of Newborn casks, as well as gins and shochu other than whisky.
Komasa Jyouzou is originally a well-established shochu maker, but in 2018 they started the Kanosuke distillery and embarked on making whiskey. I felt that they are not doing this as a side project of shochu, but are so enthusiastic that I could feel that they are seriously engaged in whisky making. This distillery also looks promising for the future.
※BAR Shinkai offers Kanosuke Newborn and Kanosuke Newborn 2019.
５．Yuza Distillery（Kinryu Co.）
Yamagata Prefecture’s first whiskey distillery, Yuza Distillery
The distillery is owned by Kinryu Co. and was just launched in November 2018. The purpose of this exhibition was to let people know about the Yusa distillery in Yamagata Prefecture by displaying several new makes.
We look forward to next year and the year after when the original sake has matured.
６．Saburomaru Distillery（Wakatsuru Brewery）
Saburomaru Distillery is owned by Wakatsuru Brewery in Toyama Prefecture, Hokuriku.
Wakatsuru Brewery began to focus even more on whiskey making after crowdfunded renovations in 2016.
While we produce our standard Sunshine Whisky on a steady basis, we also regularly release limited edition products such as Saburomaru and Moonglow using barrels from our past storage.This time, Sunshine Whiskey, Moonglow, New Pot, and an extra plum wine (?) were lined up. This is another distillery that we are looking forward to seeing more of in the future.
※BAR Shinkai offers Moonglow Crescent 2018.
７．Benizakura Distillery（Hokkaido Liberty Whisky）
Benizakura Distillery is owned by Hokkaido Liberty Whisky in Sapporo, Hokkaido.
Currently, this distillery is the talk of the town not for its whiskey, but for its craft gin.The gin, distilled using ingredients unique to Hokkaido, has a unique flavor and immediately became a hot topic.
Of course, we also carry “Craft Gin 9148” at our store.
The company name is “Hokkaido Liberty Whisky Inc.”, but so far there is no information about the whiskey production at Benizakura distillery, so we will keep an eye on their future activities.
８．Chichibu Distillery （Venture Whisky）
Whisky lovers know “Ichiro’s Malt”
Ichiro Akuto’s Venture Whisky Co. produces the Chichibu distillery’s Ichiro’s Malt whisky.
This Japanese whisky has gained worldwide recognition and has become difficult to obtain due to its small distribution. A few years ago, it was possible to purchase a few items at a fixed price, but now all items are at a premium except for White Label World Blended.
Ichiro’s Malt always has a great selection of hard-to-find items at the show.Once again, we were able to sample the Leaf Series, Peated, and other limited edition items. The taste was exceptional.
※BAR Shinkai offers Ichiro’s Malt & Grain, Ichiro’s Malt MWR, and Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu THE PEATED 2018.
９．Mars Shinshu Distillery（Honbo Shuzo）
Mars Shinshu Distillery is produced by Honbo Brewery, famous for its single malt Komagatake and Iwai Tradition.
It is a long-established Kagoshima sake brewery that also makes shochu and other spirits, but it also has a long history of whiskey making, and in 1985 it was taken over by the Mars Shinshu Distillery at the foot of Mount Komagatake in Yamanashi Prefecture in search of the ideal whiskey making process.
The house whisky used at BAR Shinkai is actually “Iwai Tradition,” a reasonably priced but very well-balanced blended whisky that is easy to drink.
In addition to the standard items on display, the recently released Komagatake Limited Edition 2019 and the upcoming limited edition Single Malt Komagatake Tsunuki Aging 2019 were on display.
※BAR Shinkai offers Iwai Tradition, Komagatake Limited Edition 2018, and Komagatake Limited Edition 2019.
１０．Asaka Distillery （Sasanogawa Shuzo）
Asaka Distillery is owned by Sasanokawa Brewery in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture.
The Sasanogawa Brewery reminds me of the “Cherry Whiskey” and “Yamazakura” products that have been distributed in the past.
Sasanogawa Brewery actually has a long history of whisky making, having started its own whisky production in the early postwar years, and even though they had to scale back their production in the late 80’s due to the shadow of the Japanese whisky market, they had enough whisky in storage that they were able to share their products even today. However, it seems that they were able to share their products with other whisky makers because they had enough whisky in storage.
In 2015, with the growing demand for whiskey in Japan, Sasanogawa Brewery decided to establish a new distillery, and the new venture, Asaka Distillery, opened in 2016.
The products on display included the “Yamazakura Series” made from barrels stored in the past, as well as new pots and new bones newly made at the Asaka distillery.
※BAR Shinkai carries “Yamazakura 18nen” and “Yamazakura Port Wine Finish”.
１１．Nagahama Distillery （Nagahama romantic beer）
Nagahama Distillery is owned by Nagahama Romantic Beer in Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture.
Established in 1996 as a craft beer brewery, we have been making beer for 20 years, and in 2016 we established Nagahama Distillery as the smallest distillery in Japan and started making whiskey anew.
In this exhibition, the AMAHAGAN series of blended whiskies are blended with several new makes and barrels purchased from overseas.
※BAR Shinkai handles AMAHAGAN Edition.1.
１２．Shizuoka Distillery （Gaiaflow Co.）
The Shizuoka distillery, owned by Gaia Flow Co.
In 2015, the facilities of the Karuizawa distillery owned by Mercian were auctioned off and the company won the bid. A portion of the equipment was used to establish the Shizuoka Distillery.
On the day of the exhibition, I was not sure if I was too careful to check, but I could only find this tapestry and not the product display.
The information on the website indicates that you brought some newborns with you on the day of the event.
Summary
This year’s Whisky Festival 2019 featured a number of rising star distilleries that have newly embarked on the whisky business since 2015.All of them are currently positioned as “newborn” because they have been aged for less than three years, but each of them conveys a passion for whisky making, and we are very much looking forward to their future development.
Finally, the old and new whisky makers have come together, and some new distilleries will start shipping their products as “whisky” from 2020.It is also an Olympic year, and the whole of Japan is sure to be excited!
