The long-awaited full bottle. This is the fifth season of whisky production in the town of Akkeshi, Hokkaido, and the long-awaited full bottle is now available.
In February, Akkeshi Distillery released its first whisky, Akkeshi Sarorun Kamui, and this October, Akkeshi Whisky Kanro, which will be released on October 28, 2020. About 15,000 bottles will be sold.
This is the first in a series of 24 seasonal festivals. This year’s “Kanro” is usually around October 8th, which means it is right around this time of the year.
There will be a total of 24 different varieties, and the single malt and blended varieties will be released alternately.
The next release will be a blended version.
The company plans to release three to four bottles of the 24 varieties per year. If the pace is 3 bottles per year, it will take about 8 years to complete the series. I would really like to complete the series.
1. Manufacturer
Kenten Jitsugyo Co.
| Establishment | Established in 1982 |
| Headquarters location | Imperial Hotel Tokyo, 1-1-1 Uchisaiwai-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0011, Japan |
| Owned distillery | Akkeshi distillery |
2. Distillery
Akkeshi Distillery
| Address | 109-2, Miyazono 4-chome, Akkeshi-cho, Akkeshi-gun, Hokkaido 088-1124, Japan |
| Start of operation | October 2016 |
The Akkeshi Distillery opened in October 2016 with a strong desire to “make whisky like Islay malt using traditional Scottish methods. A wide variety of equipment is required for whisky making, including pot stills (single-stage distillers) used for making malt whisky and mash tuns (saccharification tanks) for saccharifying malted barley.
The Akkeshi Distillery installed equipment made by Forsythe in Scotland in order to realize its goal of “making whisky like Islay malt using traditional Scottish methods. Forsythe’s craftsmen came to Japan to install the equipment.
As in the whisky making process on the island of Islay, water that passes through a layer of peat is used for the brewing water, and the whisky is matured day by day in Akkeshi, a place that is cool, moist, and exposed to the sea breeze.
The Akkeshi Distillery is the first whisky distillery in Hokkaido in 80 years, following the Nikka Whisky Yoichi Distillery (Yoichi-cho, shirisibe District).
The area around the distillery is located in the wilderness where Ezo deer can be seen, and the water of the Homakai River is filtered through a peat layer and has a brownish color like the water on the island of Islay.
The land also seems to be capable of producing homemade peat using peat containing seaweed and peat containing plants.
In addition, the land is suitable for maturing whisky, with temperature differences between summer and winter exceeding 20 degrees Celsius and falling below -20 degrees Celsius.
Kushiro Marsh is protected by the Ramsar Convention, but if you build a distillery in the marsh, it will sink, so the foundation of the building must be 20 meters high.
4-109-2 Miyazono, Akkeshi-cho, Akkeshi-gun, Hokkaido 088-1124, Japan Kennten Jitsugyo Co.
The distillery tour is organized by “Taste Terminal Conchiglie “.
[Gallery columns=”2″ link=”file” size=”full” ids=”792,791,793,790″]
3. Product name
Akkeshi Single Malt Whisky Kanro
4. Characteristics
A blend of three year old wine, bourbon, sherry and Quercus barrels.
Each barrel is a combination of peated and unpeated, which means a total of eight different combinations of peated and unpeated barrels.
4-1. Tasting notes
| Nose | Aroma of sea tide, changing from smoky to bitter sweet. A touch of peatiness. |
| Taste | Spicy and pleasantly soft peatiness. Sweetness like dried fruits and chocolate. |
4-2. Product Specifications
| Alcohol content | 55% |
| alcohol category | Single malt whisky |
| Barrel type | Wine barrels, bourbon barrels, sherry barrels, Quercus serrata barrels |
| Contents | 700ml |
| Number of bottles sold | Approx. 15,000 bottles |
| Suggested retail price | 16,500 yen (tax included) |
| Release date | October 28, 2020 |
Awards received
No awards have been received at this time.
6. Price
6-1. Manufacturer’s suggested retail price
| Product name | Akkeshi Single Malt Whisky Kanro |
| Capacity | 700ml |
| Suggested retail price | Tax included: 16,500 yen |
6-2. Resale price on Mercari
The resale price on Mercari is Around 25,000 yen to 35,000 yen The resale price on Mercari is as follows. (*As of November 3, 2021)
6-3. Sold price on Yahoo Auction
The current price on Yahoo Auction is Lowest price: 20,500 yen, Highest price: 40,501 yen, Average price: 25,623 yen (*As of November 3, 2021)
6-4. Rakuten, Yahoo Shopping, Amazon
It is also sold at Around 38,000 yen to 55,000 yen The current price on Yahoo! (*As of November 3, 2021)
6-5. Price offered at BAR SHINKAI
At “BAR SHINKAI”, which is operated by this site, it is offered at 1 glass, 45ml: 6,600 yen, 30ml: 4,400 yen, 15ml: 2,200 yen (*As of November 3, 2021) Bar Shinkai, which is operated by this site, offers it at.
https://en.jpwhisky.net/about-2/barshinkai-4/
7. Summary
With an alcohol content of 55%, according to President Toita, it is about 30ppm smoky with a bitter sweetness lurking inside.
In the mouth, there is a spicy taste at first, but the sweetness also comes out later without the high alcohol content.
When watered down, it becomes quite mellow and delicious.
President Toita also informed me that the next release will have more peat than the current release. I’m very much looking forward to seeing what kind of whisky it will be.
He said that his goal is to create an “all-star lineup” of barrels from the Akkeshi region, including refreshing breeze, peat, and Quercus, and he is steadily achieving this goal.
I can’t help but pay attention to the future efforts of the Akkeshi distillery, which is not a copy of Islay.
Please take a look at the other articles about the Akkeshi distillery.
https://en.jpwhisky.net/akkeshi-singlemalt-boushu-2-6607/
https://en.jpwhisky.net/2020/03/03/akkeshi_sarorunkamuy-2/
Lastly: Recommended Books on Japanese Whisky
If you want to learn more about Japanese whisky, which is a global trend, we highly recommend these books.
(1).Whisky Galore Vol.29 December 2021 issue
In the December 2021 issue of Whisky Galore, published by the Whisky Culture Research Institute, we report on 11 Japanese craft distilleries, including some that are open to the public for the first time, under the title of “Japanese Whisky Craft Frontline,” the first of three consecutive issues. Why did the popularity of Japanese whisky and the craft boom occur? We will examine with interviews. Chichibu Distillery / Chichibu No.2 Distillery / Mars Shinshu Distillery / Mars Tsunuki Distillery / Kanosuke Distillery / Hioki Distillery / Ontake Distillery / Osuzuyama Distillery / Kaikyo Distillery / Hanyu Distillery / Konosu Distillery
(2). Japanese Whisky as an Education for Business
This is a book written by Mamoru Tsuchiya, a world-famous whisky critic and representative of the Whisky Culture Research Institute, titled “Japanese Whisky as a Culture that Works for Business” .
The book covers the basics of whisky, the introduction of whisky to Japan, the birth of Japanese whisky, advertising strategies and the rise of Japanese whisky, and the current rise of craft distilleries. This is a book that summarizes Japanese whisky in a very easy to understand way.
(3). Whisky and I (Masataka Taketsuru)
Masataka Taketsuru, the founder of Nikka Whisky, devoted his life to brewing whisky in Japan. This is a revised and reprinted version of the autobiography of a man who simply loved whisky and talked about himself. The book vividly depicts the days when he went to Scotland alone to study as a young man and overcame many hardships to complete Japanese whisky, as well as his companion, Rita.
(4). A Letter of Challenge from a New Generation Distillery
Launching in 2019. With the world experiencing an unprecedented whisky boom, what were the managers of craft distilleries thinking and what were their thoughts as they took on the challenge of making whisky? This book tells the stories of 13 craft distillery owners, including Ichiro Hido of Venture Whisky, famous for his Ichirose Malt, who inspired the birth of craft distilleries in Japan.
(5). Whiskey Rising
This is the Japanese version of Whisky Risng, published in the US in 2016, with much updated content. Not only does it describe the history of Japanese whisky in detail, but it also includes data on all the distilleries in Japan, including the craft distilleries that have been founded in recent years. The book also includes descriptions of the legendary bottles that have been released, as well as information on bars where Japanese whisky can be found.
