Shirakawa
About the distillery
Shirakawa is linked to a now-closed distillery in the city of Shirakawa in Fukushima Prefecture, north of Tokyo, and the name lives on through Shirakawa 1958, an unusual Japanese single malt. The distillery was founded in 1939 and produced malt whisky from 1951, but at the time the whisky was intended for blending. That’s exactly what makes the one official single malt so noteworthy: a piece of Japanese whisky culture that has only now come to light as a standalone bottled release.
History
Shirakawa Distillery was founded in 1939 by Daikoku Budoshu in the city of Shirakawa in Fukushima Prefecture. In 1947, Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd. acquired the facility, and production was expanded to include wine, brandy, and other drinks. Malt whisky production began in 1951, and the distillery’s whisky history can be divided into three periods: 1951 to 1957, 1958 to 1966, and 1968 to 1969. The preserved Shirakawa 1958 originates from the beginning of the second period and therefore represents an early and especially important chapter in the distillery’s history. For many years, all whisky from Shirakawa was earmarked for the King Whisky blend, which was Takara Shuzo’s flagship. The distillery remained in operation for many years, but in the early 2000s it had been reduced to a bottling facility, and in 2003 the buildings were closed and demolished. In that way, a small but significant piece of Japanese whisky history disappeared from the landscape.
Raw materials and production
Shirakawa worked with domestic malt barley, and in the period that is best documented, fermentation was extended to five days. The distillery had an 18,000-liter stainless steel lauter tun and five or six stainless steel fermenters of the same size. Distillation took place in two copper pot stills, and the spirit was collected via a wide middle cut from 73.1 to 57.1% abv, resulting in an average still strength of 66.7%. This points to a relatively generous collection of the heart in the distillate. Production was also characterized by the fact that the malt whisky was not conceived as a standalone brand, but as a component in the King Whisky blend. It paints a picture of a distillery where craftsmanship was embedded in a broader blending culture rather than in a single malt tradition.
Maturation and cask types
The maturation took place in about a dozen small, racked warehouse buildings, and the cool climate year-round has helped the relatively heavy Shirakawa spirit mature slowly. The documented casks were domestically made 350-liter casks of Tohoku and Hokkaido mizunara, i.e., Japanese oak. This gives Shirakawa a clearly local warehousing identity and tightly connects the whisky with Japanese wood and climate.
Whiskies
The current range is very narrow: Shirakawa 1958 stands as the only official single malt from the distillery. It is described as an extremely rare and limited release and as the earliest known single vintage Japanese whisky that has been bottled. It is therefore not a broad core range, but a single historical bottle that carries the entire Shirakawa single malt story. In practice, it’s a release for collectors and curious whisky lovers who want to taste a rare piece of Japanese distillation history.
| Whisky | Type / series | Tasting profile | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shirakawa 1958 | Single malt Japanese whisky | A single official single malt from Shirakawa Distillery and the earliest known single vintage Japanese whisky that has been bottled. | Current; Limited |
General tasting profile
Visit the distillery
Contact takes place via a form, where you can request a call and receive a response within 48 hours. You can also get help with questions, be put in touch with a local retailer, or get help with direct ordering. There is no public visitor facility, guided tour, tasting, or opening hours described in the provided contact text, so the focus is on personal inquiries rather than visiting on-site.
Philosophy and craftsmanship
Shirakawa’s whisky history is shaped by a clear blending philosophy: the malt spirit was produced for blends and not for release as a single malt during the distillery’s lifetime. The modern release therefore builds on an archive find and a willingness to let a single vintage stand as the distillery’s official representative. At the same time, the connection to Takara Shuzo and the global distribution via Tomatin Distillery Co. Ltd form part of the story of how the old spirit was brought forward to today’s market.