Shizuoka Distillery
Shizuoka Whisky – Where the Karuizawa heritage meets cutting-edge Japanese design
The Shizuoka Distillery is the ambitious project of Taiko Nakamura , the founder of Gaiaflow . Inspired by a trip to the distilleries on the Scottish island of Islay in 2012, Nakamura decided to build his own distillery in his hometown of Shizuoka, deliberately contrasting it with traditional Scottish architecture through its modern Japanese design.
The heart of the distillery lies in its connection to Japanese whisky history: Nakamura acquired the remaining equipment of the legendary, defunct Karuizawa distillery at an auction. While many parts were unusable, a Porteus malt mill and a historic still were salvaged and restored. This still from Karuizawa is now back in operation in Shizuoka, complemented by modern pot stills from Forsyths in Scotland.
Production in Shizuoka is characterized by unique craftsmanship:
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Wood firing: Shizuoka is the only distillery in Japan to use a wash still directly fueled with locally sourced firewood.
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Local raw materials: High-quality Japanese barley of the "Sachiho Golden" variety is used, some of which is sourced from farmers in the immediate vicinity.
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Special fermentation: In addition to vats made of Oregon pine, fermentation vats made of local Japanese cedar wood (Sugi) are used, which give the distillate a fruity note.
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Patience: Extremely long fermentation times of up to 138 hours ensure an enormous depth of flavor.
Located in the mountainous Tamakawa region on the banks of a tributary of the Abe River, the distillery is surrounded by Shizuoka's famous tea plantations . Taiko Nakamura aims to produce a "light and delicate" style of whisky, offering an exciting contrast to the often heavier malts of other new Japanese craft distilleries.
