Eigashima (White Oak) Distillery: Japan's First Licensed Whisky Maker
Quick Takeaway
- History: Eigashima Shuzo obtained Japan’s first whisky production license in 1919, several years before Suntory opened the Yamazaki Distillery in 1923.
- Scale: This is a tiny operation. Whisky production runs just two to three months per year alongside sake, shochu, wine, and brandy.
- What to try: Akashi White Oak Single Malt is the flagship single malt. White Oak Tokinoka Blended is a gentle, affordable introduction.
- Visiting: Weekday tours by reservation only, Japanese language guides with English handouts. Located seven minutes on foot from Nishi Eigashima Station.
- JSLMA status: The Akashi Single Malt is JSLMA compliant, distilled and aged entirely in Japan. Tokinoka is listed as JSLMA compliant in our database, though Eigashima has historically sourced grain whisky externally. Verify the current Tokinoka formulation before assuming full domestic production.
Eigashima Shuzo holds a peculiar distinction in Japanese whisky history. The company received its whisky production license in 1919, making it the first entity in Japan licensed to produce whisky. Yet it took decades before Eigashima committed seriously to the craft. This is the story of a sake maker that stumbled into whisky history and, after a long and winding road, emerged with a small but credible range of single malts. If you are new to the category, start with our beginner’s guide to Japanese whisky.
The History: Sake Maker Turned Whisky Pioneer
The Eigashima story starts much earlier than whisky. The company traces its roots to sake brewing in the Eigashima area of Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture, with origins going back to 1679 according to its distributor Shinano. In 1888, founder Hyokichi Urabe consolidated several local sake makers and formally established Eigashima Shuzo Co., Ltd.
The company diversified early. In 1899, Eigashima became one of the first sake producers in Japan to sell sake in glass bottles. By 1919, the company had obtained licenses to produce whisky, brandy, and shochu alongside its sake operations. That 1919 whisky license makes Eigashima the first licensed whisky producer in Japan, predating Shinjiro Torii’s Yamazaki Distillery (opened in 1923) by several years.
But having a license and making great whisky are different things. In those early decades, Eigashima’s whisky production was minimal, using shochu making equipment and know how rather than purpose built whisky facilities. The company was, and remains, primarily a sake and shochu producer. Whisky was a side project.
It was not until the 1960s, during Japan’s whisky boom, that Eigashima made a more serious move into malt whisky production. The company installed a pair of small pot stills with a capacity of about 1,000 liters each. Even then, production was seasonal: sake from September to March, shochu from April to May, and whisky from June to July.
The current distillery took shape in 1984, when the company built a new still house on the premises in the Scottish style. The old stills were replaced with two larger, steam heated pot stills: a wash still of approximately 4,500 liters and a spirit still of roughly 3,000 liters. According to Whiskipedia, these stills were previously at the Japanese Silver Distillery in Nara, which closed in 1963. Both were rebuilt by Miyake and given new floors. The old still house was converted into the rack style warehouse that is still used today.
What Makes Eigashima Different
Seasonal Production
Most whisky distilleries operate year round. Eigashima does not. Whisky production runs roughly two to three months per year, typically from May to July. The rest of the year, the facilities are dedicated to sake, shochu, brandy, and wine. This makes Eigashima one of the most unique multi spirit producers in Japan, but it also means annual output is tiny compared to distilleries like Yamazaki or Yoichi.
The upside of small scale production: each batch gets attention. The downside: limited stock means limited aged releases. The oldest bottling Eigashima has produced was a 15 year old single malt released in 2013, aged first in Spanish oak sherry cask for twelve and a half years, then finished in Japanese Konara oak for two and a half years. Only 795 bottles were made.
Coastal Maturation
The distillery sits in Akashi City, right on the coast of the Seto Inland Sea. This coastal location creates a distinct maturation environment. Hyogo Prefecture has significant temperature swings between summer and winter, which accelerates the interaction between spirit and wood. The proximity to salt water could theoretically add maritime character to the whisky, though the company’s own president has said he cannot detect a briny flavor in the finished product, according to Whisky Magazine Japan. Honest to a fault.
Water and Raw Materials
Eigashima uses the same underground spring water for whisky production that it has used for sake brewing for generations. For malt, the distillery imports specially selected barley from Scotland. The peat level has changed over time: until 2014, they used lightly peated malt at 3.5 to 5 ppm. Since 2014, they increased to 10 ppm to give their whisky a slightly smokier, heavier character. From 2021, the plan has been to produce two variants: one with unpeated malt and one at 50 ppm.
Cask Experimentation
Where Eigashima shows real creativity is in its cask selection. Beyond the standard bourbon and sherry casks, the distillery experiments with chestnut barrels, cognac casks, sake barrels, and tequila barrels. Japanese Konara oak (distinct from Mizunara) appears in very small numbers. The warehouse can hold up to about 1,000 barrels. The hot, dry climate of the Akashi area means whiskies tend to reach drinkable maturity faster than in cooler regions, typically within three to five years.
The Whisky Lineup
Akashi White Oak Single Malt
Eigashima Shuzo
Akashi White Oak Single Malt
The flagship. This is a non age statement single malt with an average maturation of three to five years. At 46% ABV and JSLMA compliant, it represents what Eigashima can do when focused on malt whisky. The coastal maturation and mixed cask program give it a character distinct from the bigger Japanese producers.
Nose: Light malt, honey, vanilla, and a subtle hint of sea air. Palate: Medium bodied with malt, light fruit, toffee, and gentle oak. Finish: Clean and medium length with malt, vanilla, and a quiet maritime quality.
For a craft distillery producing whisky only a few months per year, this is a respectable single malt. It won’t compete head to head with Yamazaki 12 on complexity, but at a mid range price point, it offers something you genuinely cannot get from the big producers: a window into Japan’s artisanal whisky world.
White Oak Tokinoka Blended
Eigashima Shuzo
White Oak Tokinoka Blended
The name means “the scent of time,” and this is Eigashima’s gentler, more approachable offering. A blend of malt and grain whiskies, bottled at 40% ABV. JSLMA compliant.
Nose: Light malt, vanilla, subtle citrus, floral honey. Palate: Soft and gentle with light sweetness, grain, and mild fruit. Finish: Short and clean with light vanilla.
This sits at entry level pricing and works well as a first step into craft Japanese whisky. If you find Suntory Toki too bland and want something with a bit more handmade character, Tokinoka is worth a try.
Other Bottlings Worth Knowing
Eigashima releases several other products that are harder to find internationally:
- Akashi Sake Cask Single Malt: A three year old single malt matured entirely in ex sake casks made from American white oak. Nomunication described it as surprisingly accomplished for its age.
- Akashi age statement releases (5, 7, 14 year): Periodic limited releases that showcase what happens when Eigashima’s spirit gets more time in wood. The 14 year old, bottled at cask strength (58% ABV), has drawn attention from collectors.
- White Oak Akashi Blended: The domestic market blend. Be aware that the Japanese domestic version uses malt whisky blended with molasses spirit, which means it does not meet EU or international whisky standards. The export version is different and compliant. Check what you are buying.
- Centenary bottlings (2019): Released to mark 100 years since the whisky license.
How Eigashima Fits the Craft Distillery Landscape
Eigashima belongs to a wave of smaller Japanese distilleries that offer an alternative to the Suntory and Nikka duopoly. Its closest peers are Kanosuke in Kagoshima (see our Kanosuke distillery guide), Chichibu in Saitama (see our Chichibu guide), and the Mars distilleries in Nagano and Kagoshima (see our Mars whisky guide).
What separates Eigashima from those peers is its heritage (the 1919 license) and its unique constraint (seasonal production). Kanosuke Single Malt and Chichibu The Peated come from distilleries that produce whisky year round and have invested heavily in dedicated whisky infrastructure. Eigashima is still, fundamentally, a sake company that makes whisky on the side. That is both its limitation and its charm.
President Mikio Hiraishi has said he considers malt whisky the “quintessence of whisky” and wants to focus on quality over volume. The distillery has built relationships with other craft producers like Venture Whisky (Chichibu) and Hombo Shuzo (Mars) for knowledge exchange, suggesting a collaborative rather than competitive approach to growing Japan’s craft whisky sector.
Visiting the Distillery
Address: Nishijima 919, Okubocho, Akashi City, Hyogo Prefecture 674-0065
Tours: Available by reservation only, weekdays only. Currently Japanese language guides only, but English handouts covering history, facilities, and products are provided. Book via the reservation form on their website.
Getting there: Seven minutes on foot south from Nishi Eigashima Station on the Sanyo Electric Railway. From central Osaka, the journey takes about an hour. From Kyoto, take the Shinkansen to Nishi Akashi (about 40 minutes), then taxi 15 minutes. A guided tour option through GetYourGuide covers both the sake brewery and whisky distillery. For more distillery visits in the region, see our Osaka and Kyoto whisky guide and the full Japanese whisky distillery tours guide.
What to expect: This is a small, intimate operation. There is no visitor center in the traditional sense, but there is a shop. You will see the pot stills, the washbacks (4 stainless steel), the rack warehouse, and the broader sake and shochu operations. The scale is far smaller than Yamazaki or Hakushu, which is part of the appeal.
Facilities:
- 2 pot stills (wash still ~4,500L, spirit still ~3,000L)
- 4 stainless steel washbacks
- 1 rack style warehouse (capacity ~1,000 barrels)
- Total distillery site area: approximately 3,000 square meters
- Staff: approximately 40 (shared across all production)
Who Should Try Eigashima Whisky
You will like it if: You appreciate craft production, want to explore beyond Suntory and Nikka, and enjoy the story behind what you are drinking. The Akashi Single Malt offers genuine character at a reasonable price, and the limited releases reward the patient collector.
Skip it if: You prioritize age statements, cask strength bottlings, or the depth that comes from year round production and deep barrel programs. Eigashima’s youth shows in some expressions, and availability outside Japan can be spotty.
Where to buy: The Akashi Single Malt and Tokinoka are increasingly available through international retailers like Master of Malt and The Whisky Exchange. In Japan, the distillery shop and specialist retailers in Osaka and Kobe carry the full range including limited releases. For more on buying whisky in Japan, we have a dedicated guide.