Hanyu distillery, in Saitama prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, was founded by the Akuto family in the midst of war in 1941. Primarily a sake brewery, a licence to distil was obtained a few years later in 1946. Two stills were imported from Scotland to produce a modest 400 casks... In 2000, however, the family were forced to sell up, though this turned out to be ultimately fortunate for the Akuto family...
grandson of the founder Ichiro Akuto snapped up the unwanted stills and casks from the brewery's new owners, and established his new company Venture Whisky. His is the only new whisky distillery opened in Japan since the 1970s. Small and charming, the new distillery and Ichiro’s Malt whisky series has something of a cult following.
The last remaining stocks of Hanyu whisky can sometimes be found in the market today, sold under Venture Whisky's “Ichiro’s Malt” label.Show more