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This is the third installment of the Akkeshi Whisky 24 Seasonal Season Series.

●The first single malt whisky, Kanro, will be released on October 28, 2020.
●The second blended whisky, Amemizu, will be released on February 28, 2021.
●The third one, single malt Japanese whiskey, Boushu, will be released on May 28, 2021.

This will be the first release in three months since the last blended whisky “Amemizu” was released.
This 24-season series will be released alternately as single malt and blended, and this time it will be released as single malt.
The year is divided into twenty-four equal parts, and the seasons are named after them.
It also includes the often-heard “Risshun” and “Summer Solstice.”

The “Boushu” is said to be the time to sow the seeds of grains with a pointed tip, such as rice and wheat, around June 6 every year.

It also refers to the period between the “Boushu” and the summer solstice, the next solar term. From a meteorological point of view, it is around the beginning of the rainy season.
The 24 solar terms are not fixed dates, so the dates change slightly from year to year, but in 2021, “Boushu” will be June 5. It also refers to the 16 days or so until the summer solstice on June 21.

This year, the name of the product is “Japanese Whiskey“.
This indicates that the product was made in accordance with the “Voluntary Standards on Japanese Whisky” that came into effect on April 1, and is proof that it is a genuine Japanese whisky.

The “Boushu” label design is based on a deep green color with fireflies. In the eastern part of Hokkaido, including Akkeshi, there are many wetlands, which seem to be inhabited by “Heike botaru”.It can be seen from June to August, and the design of the fireflies is perfect for the”Boushu”s label.

The full-bodied sweetness of the Akkeshi malt may attract fireflies to the area.

Please enjoy the early summer time with the malt grown up listening to the sea noise of the Akkeshi Bay.

Our Take

It seems that this 24 Season series will be released alternately as single malt and blended.

This means that there will be 24 different kinds of whiskeys in 24 seasons, and they will release 3 to 4 bottles per year. If the pace is 3 bottles per year, it will take 8 years to complete the whole series. I would definitely like to complete the series.

The Akkeshi Distillery’s future plans include growing barley, the raw material for whiskey, in the Akkeshi area, and producing all of its whiskey, including peat and wooden barrels for maturation, in the Akkeshi area, with the aim of creating an “all-star” whiskey in the future.

This year, too, it seems that the sowing of Akkeshi barley was successfully completed in mid-May. It seems that preparations are steadily underway for the “Akkeshi All Star”.

They are also stepping up their efforts to use Hokkaido barley (Furano, Nakashibetsu) as a raw material, and although the Hokkaido barley they tested in 2018 cost more than twice as much as the Scottish barley and had an alcohol yield of about 80-90%, the flavors were Japanese (warm tangerine, roasted chestnuts, dense roasted sweet potato). From 2019, they will be producing about 10% of the barley from Hokkaido.

I can’t wait to see when the next release in the 24 Seasons series will be, and I can’t wait to see what the name of the 24 Seasons will be.

If you want to know more about the Akkeshi Distillery, it was featured on BS Fuji’s Whiskipedia in December 2020, so be sure to check out that distribution.

The program is not only about the charm of Akkeshi whiskey, but also about the nature of Akkeshi town, the fishery centering on oyster fishing, and the marriage of whiskey and oysters from Akkeshi.

(All Images Courtesy of JPWhisky.net)

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