Akashi White Oak Japanese Blended Whisky 500ml

The White Oak Distillery is perhaps one of the lesser known producers of Japanese whisky, yet it holds a legitimate claim to being the country’s oldest, having been granted a licence to produce whisky in 1919, four years before Yamazaki Distillery was established. It is situated in the city of Akashi in Hyogo Prefecture, west of Kobe and overlooking the Seto Inland Sea.

The distillery’s origins trace back to Eigashima Shuzo, which was founded in 1888 to produce sake. Although Eigashima Shuzo secured a whisky production licence in 1919, it was not until the move to its current premises in 1984 that White Oak Distillery, as it is known today, came into being.

White Oak’s stills operate for only one month each year, resulting in very limited production. The majority of its output is blended whisky, however when single malts are released they are labelled ‘Akashi’, named after the distillery’s hometown. The first Akashi single malt was released in 2007.