The whisky industry is no stranger to hyperbole, but the story behind the world’s rarest Japanese whisky contains little to no exaggeration.
Tomatin and Takara Shuzo have announced the forthcoming release of a 1958 vintage whisky from the Shirakawa distillery, believed to be the earliest known vintage for a Japanese whisky to have ever been released.
The Shirakawa distillery operated for over sixty years before being closed and demolished in 2003. Not much is known about the distillery; oral recollections were scarce and official documents surprisingly limited.
What is known is that the distillery was built in 1939, with whisky production starting in 1951. Indeed, Shirakawa was something of a pioneer as one of the first distilleries to do so.
Unlike the present day, there wasn’t a colossal demand for Japanese single malt whisky at this time, and as such no official whisky from the Shirakawa distillery was ever released. All spirit produced - as exquisite as it was rumoured to be - was destined for the Takara Shuzo’s “King’s Whisky” blend.
High quality shochu was also produced at the distillery, and as demand for this spirit grew in the 1970s and 80s, whisky production decreased. By the end of its life the distillery was mostly used as a bottling plant before its closure in 2003. So with the doors closed, and then the building destroyed, it was thought this piece of Japanese whisky history had died with the distillery.
Flash forward nearly two decades, and the secrets of Shirakawa are being rediscovered. A collaboration between Tomatin and parent company Takara Shuzo led to the last remaining Shirakawa stock being unearthed in 2019. No doubt a few jaws had to be collected from the floor when they realised that the spirit was originally distilled in 1958 and may just be the rarest Japanese whisky in the world…
After being distilled in 1958 and its subsequent cask maturation, the whisky was then stored in ceramic jars before being moved to steel tanks upon the distillery’s closure. While this is doubtlessly a monumental and historic discovery, some mysteries remain. Although it is likely to have been matured in mizunara (Japanese oak), the exact details of the type of cask used are unknown. Similarly the length of maturation has not been determined. It seems Shirakawa isn’t revealing all its secrets just yet.
The whisky will be bottled at 49% and promises notes of honeysuckle, sweet fruit, and woody aromas that lead to lime curd, white chocolate and ginger. It will also be incredibly limited. Only 1,500 bottles will be available - the last liquid from a lost legend.
The 1958 Shirakawa won't be a whisky for everyone, with an RRP of £25,000. Yet some would say it's a small price to pay for such a significant piece of history.