Sakurao Distillery, located in Hatsukaichi near Hiroshima, continues to release new expressions as its whisky matures. Sakurao Shimahei is among the limited bottlings that demonstrate the distillery’s growing ambition — and the quality that Hiroshima’s coastal climate and soft water can bring to single malt.
Sakurao’s Distinctive Position
Sakurao Distillery was established in 2018 by Chugoku Jozo — a company with a 110-year history in shochu and liqueur production. The decision to build a whisky distillery in Hiroshima was, at the time, bold: the region had no modern whisky tradition. The distillery sits on the Seto Inland Sea coast, where sea breezes, high humidity, and warm summers create maturation conditions that accelerate oak integration while preserving the delicate coastal character that now defines Sakurao’s house style.
Shimahei: Island-Style Character
Shimahei (島平) draws on the island geography of Hiroshima’s Seto Inland Sea — an archipelago of 140 islands where fishing communities, pine-covered hills, and calm waters define the landscape. The expression aims to capture that coastal gentleness: lighter, more floral than Sakurao’s peatier releases, with the honeyed quality that comes from the company’s long experience with fermentation.
Mika’s Perspective
I stock Sakurao at Bar Little Happiness as part of a specific commitment to Hiroshima’s own whisky heritage. When guests visit Hiroshima and discover that the city has its own distillery — producing genuinely good whisky, in this landscape, from local water — it changes something in the conversation. Shimahei is one of the bottles that makes that case most quietly and convincingly. Available at Bar Little Happiness. Read the original Japanese column: https://little-happiness.jp/columns/sakurao-shimahei/
Bar Little Happiness | Hiroshima, Japan
Rum & Whisky specialists | 1,000+ bottles | English menu available
Open Mon–Sat 7PM–12:30AM, Sun 7PM–midnight
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