Cherry of the North, Toa of the East, Mars of the West” once ceased production, but resumed in 2015 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of its founding.
The distillery is a windy distillery in Asaka that has protected the original Ichiro’s Malt and also the future of Japanese craft.
1.Outline
Yamazakura Shuzo, founded in 1710 to the south of Inawashiro Lake, moved to Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture in 1765.
The oldest local whisky distillery in Tohoku known for its famous sake “Sasanokawa”.
The place called Asaka is so old that it appears in the Manyoshu, and was once called “Asaka” written “Anshaku”.
Since its establishment in 1765, the distillery has been making sake, but it was in 1946 that it obtained a license to distill whisky, which was in increasing demand as a national policy during the postwar U.S. military occupation.
The difficulty in brewing sake due to the shortage of rice during and after the war and the influx of Western culture after the war also encouraged the company to engage in whisky production.
In the 1950s and 1960s, during the period of rapid economic growth, Sasanokawa’s “Cherry whisky” gained popularity along with Toa Shuzo and Hombo Shuzo, and was known as “Cherry of the North, Toa of the East, and Mars of the West.
However, as the popularity of whisky declined and the industry entered a winter period, Toa Shuzo was forced to withdraw from the business in 2003, and the Sasanokawa Shuzo took custody of the barrels of the original whisky at the Hanyu distillery.
This was a big help in the release of the legendary Ichiro’s Malt, which later became popular worldwide and was sold at auction for approximately 100 million yen.
Because of this connection, Ichiro Akuto’s know-how is strongly reflected in the design plan of the Asaka Distillery.
Currently, the distillery uses two types of malt, a Scotch type and a malt imported from Kentucky, although the production is extremely small at only 400 kg per batch.
2.Basic Information
2-1. Owner
Sasanokawa Shuzo
2-2. Location
1-178 Sasagawa, Koriyama-shi, Fukushima 963-0108
2-3. Access
JR
Approx. 15 min. walk from Asaka Nagamori Station
By Car
15 minutes from Koriyama Minami IC
2-4. Start of Operation
Started in 1946
Reopened in 2016
2-5. Main Products
We especially recommend “YAMAZAKURA World Blended Asaka Distillery & 4”, which is fresh in our minds after winning awards at the “Feminaries World Wine Competition” and TWSC, where all judges are female professionals, including sommeliers, brewers, wine journalists, and chefs from around the world, who judge strictly blind.
This world blended whisky is made with the Seki distillery’s original spirit as the key malt, and also uses original spirits from the world’s five major regions.
Matured in 10,000 liter capacity marriage tanks (American oak) in the Asaka distillery’s aging room.
It has a sweet aroma reminiscent of maple syrup, a clean and gentle herbal aroma, a thick malt flavor that spreads smoothly on the palate, and a spicy taste, along with a malt-derived sweetness, a soft oakiness, and a subtle peppery aftertaste.
◆Feminaries World Wine Competition 2024
Gold Medal in the Japanese Distilled Spirits category
Special Jury Prize at the Coup de Coeur
Tokyo whisky & Spirits Competition (TWSC) 2024
Gold Medal (World Blended Whisky/Blended category)
Best Category Award (World Whisky Category)
Best Cost Performance Award (World Blended Whisky category)
[https://jpwhisky.net/asaka-and4-23788/
3.Tours and Visitor Center
Tours are available (first 5 visitors ).
Free of charge
Every Wednesday from 13:30 to 14:30 (except national holidays / December is suspended due to peak season)
Contents
1) Distillery tour
②Shopping at the store (Please note that you will not stop by the guest room.)
Premium Course (paid)
Second Friday of every month from 13:30 to 15:30 (third Friday if the day falls on a national holiday / suspended in December due to peak season)
Fee 11,000 yen (including tax)
Contents
1) Invitation to guest room available
2) Distillery tour
(3) Separator experience
④Hand-filling (making your own original blend of whisky)
(5) Tasting (many valuable whiskys are available)
⑥Shopping at the store (closes at 16:00)
Both courses can be booked one week in advance.
However, the first-come, first-served reservations and for FY2024, reservations have been so successful that they have closed early.
We highly recommend making reservations as early as possible.
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3-1. Gourmet Information in the Area
Kitakata ramen, which is said to have its roots in shina soba sold at street stalls around the end of the Taisho period (1912-1926), originated in Fukushima.
A “food” platform adjacent to the Japan Culinary Arts College, a 12-minute walk from Ajimu Nagamori Station.
THE RESTAURANT is a restaurant complex where you can enjoy a café for lunch and colorful seasonal course meals for dinner with former KIHACHI Executive Chef Masao Suzuki as the executive chef.
The restaurant also offers a variety of events, and you will want to visit again and again to enjoy the course meals prepared by the talented guest chefs.
Sometimes you can even enjoy collaborative desserts using whisky from the Asaka Distillery, so be sure to check it out before you go.
In addition, Dairy Queen Cafe au Lait and Cream Box are also recommended.
3-2. Sightseeing Lodging
Koriyama City is located about 30 minutes by train from Azeki-Nagamori Station, and is recommended as a base for sightseeing in Fukushima.
4.Manufacturing specs
The Asaka Distillery is located in the renovated No. 3 warehouse of the Sasanokawa Sake Shuzo, which was originally used to store sake.
The pot still at the Asaka distillery is the smallest in Japan at 3 meters high, and has a large contact area between the moromi and copper.
There is actually a reason for the size of this pot still: the size of the first distillation kettle is the same as that of the Chichibu Distillery No. 1.
This is because Mr. Akuto, when giving technical guidance, stated that he could not responsibly pass on the technology of a larger pot still than his own, so it is the same size as that of the Chichibu No.1 distillery.
Many things at Asaka distillery are made of wood, including the distillation area.
The reason for this is that if the work platforms that serve as scaffolding when moving around the building are made of stainless steel, they cannot be moved, but if they are made of wood, they can be easily moved and installed, and can be disassembled and reassembled as needed.
The plumbing in the distillery is also ingenious, and everything is custom-made by a local contractor.
In the event of an emergency or problem with the plumbing, they are able to quickly maintain it at a nearby factory, and sometimes repair it themselves at a home improvement store.
| Production volume | 43,000 liters |
| Preparation water | Soft water from the Bandai mountain range |
| Amount brewed | 400 kg |
| Malt mill | Roller mill made by Buehler |
| Saccharification tank | Stainless steel semi-rotary tin made by Miyake Seisakusho |
| Wort volume | 2000 liters |
| Yeast used | 2 kg of dry yeast for whisky |
| Fermentation tanks | 5 Douglas firs with Japanese wooden vats / 3,000 liters (fermentation time 90~120 hours) |
| Pot still | First distillation 1 straight type made by Miyake Seisakusho / 2000 liters redistillation 1 unit of Miyake Seisakusho straight type/1000 liters Heating method |
| Cooling system | Shell and tube for both first distillation and redistillation |
| Bottling facilities | Yes |
| Maturing warehouse | Fixed rack type, approx. 1,000 barrels Maturing room No. 2, mobile rack type, approx. 600 barrels |
| Others | 63.5% in barrels |
5.Maturing environment
The Asaka Distillery is located in the Koriyama Basin, where the temperature varies widely from day to day and year to year, and the whisky is exposed to strong winds blowing down from Bandai-san.
The annual Angelus share is approximately 4-5%.
It is said that the first storage cellar is not well sealed and there is a gusty wind.
In summer, the temperature in the upper part of the storage room rises to about 40-50°C.
The whisky in the back of the first cellar does not get the color of the barrels, while the top of the racks and near the entrance are said to mature faster.
Conversely, the second cellar is cool and insulated, keeping the temperature 15°C lower than the outside air, and never exceeding 25°C even in the summer.
About 80% of the barrels are bourbon barrels.
6.Distillery Story
6-1. History
| Year 1710 (Hoei 7) |
Yamaguchi family’s sake tag is recorded in Funatsu, on the southern shore of Lake Inawashiro, Fukushima Prefecture |
|---|---|
| 1765 (the year of the Tokugawa Shogunate) (2nd year of Meiwa) |
The Yamaguchi family begins brewing and selling sake in Koriyama. Year of establishment of Sasanokawa Shuzo |
| 1920 (Taisho 9 year) |
Yamaguchi Shuzo established. |
| 1932 (The year of the founding of the Sasanokawa Shuzo) (Showa 7) |
Yamazakura Shuzo established. Sake “Sasanokawa” produced and sold. |
| 1946 1946 (Showa 21) |
Licensed to manufacture whisky |
| 1957 (1957) |
Factory relocated |
| 1966 (The year of the first whisky production in Japan) 1966 (Showa 41) |
Sasanokawa Shuzo established |
| 1982 (the year of the first Shuzo’s establishment) 1982 (Showa 57) |
Sasanokawa’s “Cherry whisky” becomes popular during the local whisky boom. Cherry whisky VVX” is released |
| 1983 (Showa 57) (1983) |
whisky storage facility completed |
| 1989 (the first year of the new whisky storage facility) (1989) |
whisky production was suspended |
| 1998 (The year of the first whisky production) 1998 (Heisei 10) |
Yamazakura Shuzo and Sasanokawa Shuzo merge, with Sasanokawa Shuzo as the surviving company. |
| 2003 (2003) |
Toa Shuzo (Hanyu distillery) took over the storage of sake and casks. Installed pot stills for Otsu shochu. |
| 2005 (Heisei 15) (Heisei 17) |
Initial production of Ichiro’s Malt (sold by Venture whisky). |
| 2007 (Heisei 17) (Heisei 19) |
Second shochu pot still is added. |
| 2014 (Heisei 19) (Heisei 26) |
Release of Sasanokawa Shuzo’s stored whisky under the YAMAZAKURA brand |
| 2015 (Heisei 24) (Heisei 27) |
whisky distilling business resumes to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the company’s founding |
| 2016 (Year 2016) (2016) |
Asaka distillery started production. Partnership with Fukushima-ya Shoten for ownership of whisky barrels. |
| 2017 (Year 2017) (Heisei 29) |
Release of “Asaka Distillery Yamazakura Newborn |
| 2019 (Heisei 24) (2028) |
Enameled fermentation tanks for sake are replaced with wooden fermentation tanks First 3-year aged “Yamazakura Single Malt Asaka the First” released |
| 2020 (2020) |
Release of “Asaka the First Peated” and “Pure Malt Yamazakura (Limited Edition Cherry Cask Finish)” using heavily peated malt with a phenol level of 50ppm |
| 2021 (2021) |
Construction of the second aging warehouse is completed and “YAMAZAKURA Blended Malt Asaka Sherry Wood Reserve” is released |
| 2022 (Year 2022) 2022 (the 4th year of the 20th year) |
YAMAZAKURA 2017 5 Year Double Barrel Chichibu whisky Festival 2022 Commemorative Bottle” and “YAMAZAKURA Single Malt Asaka 2022 EDITION” are released. |
| 2023 2023 (2023) |
YAMAZAKURA Asaka Distillery & 4″, “YAMAZAKURA Asaka Rabbit Label Zodiac Sign Bottle”, “Kanaya Hotel 150th Anniversary Original Whisky Asaka Distillery Asaka Shingle Cask, Limited Edition for the Liquaman whisky Messe 2023 YAMAZAKURA Single Malt Asaka 2023 EDITION YOIYO Chocolates 12th collaboration with LOTTE YAMAZAKURA Single Malt Asaka YOIYO Edition” using Asaka single malt sake was released |
| Year 2024 2024 (the 6th year of the 20th year of the 20th year of the 20th year of the 20th year of the 20th year of the 20th year) |
YAMAZAKURA Single Malt Asaka 2024 Edition and YAMAZAKURA Single Cask Asaka 2019 5 Years for Whisky Festival 2024 in Osaka are released |
| 2025 2025 (2025) |
Release of “KANAYA HOTEL Original Whisky” (2nd release) |
6-2. Manufacturing Department
Mr. Shohei Kurohane, Whisky Section
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7.List of other distilleries
