A golden liquid from a shuttered and lost Japanese distillery is being released for the first time, making it the rarest Japanese whisky available. Dating back to 1939, the Shirakawa distillery was located 200km north of Tokyo and was bought by Takara Shuzo in 1947. It produced malt whisky from 1951 to 1969, all of which was meant to be blended and the majority of which was used in creating Takara Shuzo’s flagship blended “King” whisky. Despite being used only in blends, the whisky was known for its fantastic quality – spending a remarkable five days fermenting to create a spirit of incredible vibrancy and character. The whisky was never meant to be released as a single malt, until now, when 1,500 bottles of this precious liquid are being released by Takara Shuzo, with distribution worldwide from Scottish distillery Tomatin.

‘There are no known examples of Japanese whisky claiming to be from a single vintage that predate Shirakawa 1958,’ says Stefan van Eycken, Japanese whisky and distilling expert. ‘Even though Shirakawa Distillery was one of the pioneers of malt whisky-making in Japan, the liquid was never officially available as a single malt. This limited 1,500 bottle release will see the Japanese whisky category, one of the most sought-after categories of spirit in the world, continue to grow from strength to strength.’

The whisky was discovered when Stephen Bremner, managing director of Tomatin Distillery, became interested in the whiskies produced by Tomatin’s parent company, Takara Shuzo. In investigating its story and speaking to former employees, he came across the information and lost documents that would lead them, in 2019, to the last barrels of Shirakawa Whisky at Takara Shuzo’s Kurokabegura plant. The whisky they know was distilled in 1958, aged in oak casks and then transferred to ceramic jars before being moved to stainless steel tanks when Shirakawa closed. 

‘Tomatin Distillery Co Ltd had been bought by Takara Shuzo in 1986 and I became fascinated by the story of Shirakawa and its history of whisky production. There had never been an official single malt bottling, and the distillery had long gone, but I couldn’t help wondering what if a part of liquid history lay unearthed. After several in-depth discussions with colleagues at Takara Shuzo, the last remaining parcel of Shirakawa was identified in 2019. When I discovered that the last remaining stock was distilled in 1958, I was astounded! It was a genuine wow moment as I realised very quickly that what we were dealing with was extremely rare,’ says Bremner.

The resulting whisky is, of course, mature in its smoothness and depth of flavour but retains an amazing vigour and boldness. ‘It is pretty remarkable when you try it, that it’s almost whether by fluke or by foresight, the whisky has been captured in its prime,’ says Tomatin ambassador Scott Adamson. ‘It has a remarkable freshness for something that was distilled over six decades ago.’ The whisky is a natural caramel colour and 49% with notes of candied pineapple, orange peel, zingy apple, sandalwood and cedar coming from the cask that was probably mizunara oak, but so little is known about the distillation and maturation process that no one can be certain. The whisky has a rich sweetness that is balanced by toasty and herbal notes and a hint of wax, spice and camphor. 

With just 1,500 bottles available and this being the only bottling, whisky lovers will have to act quickly to get their chance to try Shirakawa 1958. Bottles are available from tomatindistillery.com and selected retail partners including Harrods, Berry Bros, The Whisky Exchange and Royal Mile Whiskies. The RRP of a bottle (70cl) is £25,000.

The only UK consumer tasting of Shirakawa 1958 will take place at The Whisky Exchange Whisky Show at 12:45pm on Saturday 1 October 2022. Tickets for the masterclass can be purchased from whiskyshow.com/london 

Guests must also hold a Saturday ticket for the show in order to attend