Written by Mika Tanimoto, Owner-Bartender, Bar Little Happiness
In 2003, approximately 400 casks of Hanyu whisky — some nearly 20 years old — were scheduled for destruction. The new owner of Hanyu Distillery was exiting the whisky business. Ichiro Akuto desperately sought someone to save them. He was refused everywhere.
Then one man said yes.
“That would be a loss for the whole industry. It would be a waste of all that time. Use our warehouse.”
The man was the president of Sasanokawa Shuzo in Fukushima — now home to Asaka Distillery. The Hanyu casks were moved to Fukushima. In 2005 they became Ichiro’s Malt. The Card Series later sold at auction for approximately 160 million yen. None of that happens without this single act of generosity.
300 Years of History
Sasanokawa Shuzo has records going back to 1765, with the Yamaguchi family brewing sake on this site for approximately 300 years. Their encounter with whisky came through war: after Japan’s 1945 defeat, facing rice shortages, they obtained the oldest whisky production license in the Tohoku region in 1946. Their Cherry Whisky brand became nationally popular through the postwar decades.
Asaka Distillery: Reborn With Ichiro’s Help
When Asaka restarted production in 2016, Ichiro Akuto helped acquire pot stills to the same specifications as Chichibu Distillery’s first stills — giving Asaka a direct technical lineage to one of Japan’s most celebrated distilleries.
Head Distiller Kuroha Shohei’s stated goal: “To be the best in Japan, starting from our hometown.” As of my visit, approximately 1,600 casks were sleeping in the warehouses, with a third storage facility under construction.
Full Japanese report: little-happiness.jp/columns/asaka-distillery-visit-report1/
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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.
english.little-happiness.jp