Sakurao Distillery in Hiroshima is not standing still. Having established its core whisky range, the distillery has begun exploring unconventional maturation — including a rum cask finish that brings a tropical sweetness to Hiroshima’s already-distinctive spirit, and an Angel’s Share expression that commemorates the evaporation losses that are, paradoxically, the sign of a cask maturing well.
Angel’s Share: Celebrating What You Lose
Every year, a percentage of the whisky in a maturing cask evaporates — given to the angels, in the poetic tradition. In Japan’s warm, humid climate, angel’s share losses are higher than in Scotland: typically 3–4% annually, compared to Scotland’s 2%. What remains is more concentrated, more complex — the whisky that survived. An Angel’s Share expression from Sakurao celebrates exactly this: the intensity born of loss.
Rum Cask: Caribbean Meets Hiroshima
The rum cask finish brings a different dimension to Sakurao’s character — tropical fruit notes, coconut, a round sweetness that plays against the coastal and cereal character of the base whisky. It is an experiment in contrast: what happens when Hiroshima’s terroir meets the Caribbean’s cask heritage.
Mika’s Perspective
As a bar that specialises in both whisky and rum, I find Sakurao’s rum cask expression particularly interesting: it sits in the conversation between both worlds. It’s also, practically speaking, one of the few ways to experience a Hiroshima whisky with direct tropical influence. Available at Bar Little Happiness. Read the original Japanese column: https://little-happiness.jp/columns/sakurao-rum-cask/
Bar Little Happiness | Hiroshima, Japan
Rum & Whisky specialists | 1,000+ bottles | English menu available
Open Mon–Sat 7PM–12:30AM, Sun 7PM–midnight
No cover charge. Walk-ins welcome.
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