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This is the fifth release from Akkeshi Distillery. We’ve released four new make-ups that have been aged in barrels for up to 30 months, and we’ve finally reached three years of maturation that allows us to call ourselves a whisky in Scotland.

Three years after its establishment in the fall of 2016, the distillery’s first single malt whisky, ” Sarorun Kamui,” was finally released on February 27, 2020 (using only raw materials distilled between November and December 2016 and aged for over three years).

The name “Sarorun Kamui” means “red-crowned crane” in the Ainu language, meaning “god in the swamp,” and it seems to refer to the environment suitable for whiskey making in the Akkeshi region. The bottle is also colored white and red to match this image. In addition, the company considers Akkeshi to be the “Islay of Japan”, and has been working on the development of a new whisky production system.

1. Clear and limpid water through the peat layer

2. Cool and humid climate (preserved by the Ramsar Convention, scheduled to become a national monument in November 2020)

3. Can produce oysters.

and other similarities.

• Akkeshi NEW BORN FOUNDATIONS 1 Bourbon barrel non-peated (released on 2/27/2018)
• Akkeshi NEW BORN FOUNDATIONS 2 Bourbon Barrel Peated (2018/8/28 on sale)
• Akkeshi NEW BORN FOUNDATIONS 3 Quercus serrata (Released on 3/5/2019)
• Akkeshi NEW BORN FOUNDATIONS 4 Blended (Released on 8/29/2019)
• Akkeshi Whiskey Sarorun Kamui（2020/2/27)

Tasting Notes

The culmination of three years of Newborn releases so far.
It is a blend of unpeated bourbon barrels, sherry barrels, red wine barrels and peated Quercus barrels. It has strawberry and chocolate flavors, peaty smoke, a hint of sweetness, and the distinctive Nikki-like crispness of Mizunara oak. It goes well with a wide range of foods, including seafood, meat, and chocolate, and can be enjoyed straight or with water or carbonation.

Our Take

The contents of this single malt are aged for three years, so there is some youth in it. You can drink it straight, or add a little water, twist it up, or drink it on the rocks, as you like. If you take your time and drink it slowly, the aroma will blossom and you will enjoy it even more. It also goes well with oysters, a specialty of the town of Akkeshi, and if you add a few drops to raw oysters on the half shell, the flavors of both oysters and oysters will harmonize and you will enjoy the aroma of the sea. This way of enjoying oysters is also a familiar custom in Islay. Why don’t you try this luxury just like in the holy land of scotch?

Previously, the Akkeshi Newborn Series was shipped in smaller quantities, making it even more rare and valuable. If you are a whisky enthusiast, this is a gem that you must check out. A fourth maturation cellar is also under construction, and the distillery is aiming to become an all-star distillery with barley, peat, and Quercus oak barrels in the future, so it seems that there are still many interesting things to come.

(All Images Courtesy of JPWhisky.net)

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