Asaka

Asaka is the only whisky distillery in the Tohoku region of Japan. It is owned and operated by Sasanokawa Shuzo, a historic sake producer with origins charting back to 1765. The company entered the whisky business in 1946 but was content for many years to produce its brands with imported Scotch.

This all changed when company president Tetsuzo Yamaguchi - encouraged by the growth in popularity of Japanese whisky in the 21st century - decided to open the Asaka distillery. Housed in one of its former sake warehouses, it opened in 2015. The distillery's single malt is currently bottled as a sub-category of Sasanokawa Shuzo's Yamazakura brand.