Saburomaru (Wakatsuru) Distillery: Toyama's ZEMON Still and the Snow Country Whisky

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Quick Takeaway

• Innovation: Saburomaru invented ZEMON, the world’s first cast bronze pot still, in collaboration with a traditional Takaoka bell foundry. It’s made from 90% copper and 8% tin.
• Style: Heavily peated whiskies are the signature. Some expressions reach 80ppm, comparable to Octomore, but reviewers describe the smoke as clean and controlled rather than aggressive.
• Heritage: Wakatsuru Shuzo has been making whisky since 1952 under the Sunshine brand. CEO and Master Blender Takahiko Inagaki returned to Toyama in 2016 to revive the distillery.
• Availability: Most releases are lottery only in Japan. Saburomaru SAB. Smoky Blended Whisky is the most accessible product internationally.
• JSLMA: Blended products contain imported malt and are not JSLMA compliant. Single malt expressions made solely from Saburomaru distillate should qualify, though this is not widely confirmed.

Toyama Prefecture is not where most people expect to find whisky. The Hokuriku region on Japan’s northwestern coast is known for its heavy snowfall, rugged mountains, and water filtered through the Northern Alps. It is also home to Saburomaru, one of the most innovative craft distilleries in Japan, and the only whisky distillery in the Hokuriku region.

What makes Saburomaru remarkable is not just what it distills, but how. The distillery invented a cast bronze pot still in partnership with a 400 year old bell foundry, sources local Mizunara oak for its own casks, and has turned the heavy peated style into a defining identity. This is a distillery that takes Toyama’s traditional craft heritage and applies it to whisky making.

The Wakatsuru Shuzo Story

Wakatsuru Shuzo was established in 1862 in what is now Tonami City, Toyama Prefecture. The company began as a sake brewery, a common origin story for Japanese whisky producers.

Wakatsuru started researching spirits distillation in 1947, and by 1952 the Saburomaru Distillery was operational. The first whisky, Sun Shine Premium Whisky 1953, was released in 1953 under the Sunshine brand. For decades, Sunshine whisky was a regional staple, sold primarily in the Toyama and Hokuriku area. It never achieved the national recognition of Suntory or Nikka products, but it built a loyal local following.

Like most Japanese whisky producers, Wakatsuru was hit hard by the decades long decline in domestic whisky consumption that ran from the mid 1980s through the early 2000s. Production at Saburomaru was reduced to just a few months per year. The distillery survived, but barely.

The turning point came in 2016 when Takahiko Inagaki, whose family has led Wakatsuru since 1910, returned to Toyama to take charge of reviving the distillery. His theme was “tradition and innovation,” inheriting the family’s commitment to smoky whisky while pursuing technologies that no other distillery had attempted.

The ZEMON Cast Bronze Pot Still

The centerpiece of Saburomaru’s innovation is ZEMON, the world’s first cast bronze pot still. Developed in 2019, it was created through a collaboration between the distillery, Oigo Seisakusho (a leading Takaoka bell foundry with Japan’s top market share in temple bells), and the Toyama Prefectural Industrial Technology Research and Development Center.

The still is composed of approximately 90% copper and 8% tin. Traditional pot stills are made from copper alone, which strips sulfur compounds from the spirit during distillation. The tin alloy in ZEMON reportedly adds a further refining quality, producing a distillate described as cleaner, rounder, and sweeter than what pure copper achieves. Reddit reviews of ZEMON distilled spirit consistently note the smoothness despite extreme peat levels.

The name ZEMON (ゼモン) references the Saburomaru heritage. Takaoka is Japan’s leading center for bronze casting (dōki), a tradition dating back over 400 years. Using this local craft to build a pot still is pure Saburomaru: taking something from Toyama’s heritage and applying it to whisky.

A new state of the art mash tun was installed in 2018, and in 2021 the distillery launched T&T TOYAMA, a Japanese whisky independent bottler brand.

The Saburomaru Sanshiro Cask

Alongside the ZEMON still, Saburomaru developed another Toyama first: the “Sanshiro” cask, made from locally sourced Mizunara oak. In collaboration with Shimada Mokuzai (a timber company) and Yamazaki Koumuten (a carpentry workshop), both based in the Inami district of Nanto City, Toyama, the distillery produces casks from Toyama Prefecture Mizunara (Quercus crispula).

Mizunara is notoriously difficult to cooper. The wood is porous, prone to leaking, and takes around 200 years to grow large enough for cask making. (For more on why Mizunara matters, see our Mizunara Oak guide.) Most Japanese distillers source Mizunara from Hokkaido. Saburomaru’s decision to use local Toyama Mizunara, processed by local craftspeople, reinforces the distillery’s commitment to regional identity.

Production and Peat

Saburomaru’s stated ambition is “The Ultimate Peat,” and peat dominates the production philosophy. All the malt distilled at Saburomaru is peated. Peating levels range across expressions, with some reaching 80ppm, territory more commonly associated with Islay’s Bruichladdich Octomore series.

Distillation happens only during the cooler months, a practice that dates back to the distillery’s early days when production occupied just a few weeks per year. Toyama’s heavy snowfall and cold winters create natural conditions that influence the distillate character, though the distillery does not make specific claims about snow country maturation effects.

The water source is the Shō River (庄川), fed by snowmelt from the Northern Japanese Alps (Hida Mountains). The region’s abundant, soft water has supported sake brewing in Toyama for centuries.

The Whisky Lineup

Saburomaru Single Malts

The Saburomaru name is now reserved for single malt and premium releases. These are the expressions made entirely from malt distilled at Saburomaru, many through the ZEMON still. Key releases include:

The Sun Series: Annual limited releases that showcase the distillery’s evolving character. Saburomaru Whisky “The Sun” 2023 is the latest edition. These are released via lottery in Japan and are difficult to find internationally.

Numbered Tarot Series: Single cask releases named after tarot cards (The Chariot, The Emperor, The Hierophant, The Lovers). These are typically heavily peated, cask strength expressions bottled from individual bourbon barrels. Reviewers on r/JapaneseWhisky describe the VII “The Chariot” (59% ABV, 80ppm) as delivering “plumes of peat, petrichor from pine forests, bonfire smoke” with an “oily and smooth” texture. Several are available only by lottery.

Junenmyo: Saburomaru Junenmyo 7 Years Old is a blended expression named after a local Toyama word meaning “long lasting.” The Junenmyo line represents the distillery’s aged stock.

Far East of Peat: Saburomaru Far East of Peat 2nd Batch positions Saburomaru’s peat character against the global landscape. The name is a direct nod to the idea that serious peat whisky is no longer exclusively Scottish.

Historical Releases: The Saburomaru 1960 Single Malt 55 Year Old Cask Strength was one of the oldest Japanese whiskies ever bottled at the time of its 2016 release. Distilled in May 1960, vatted from ex red wine casks from Yamanashi, and bottled at 47% ABV. Only 155 bottles were produced, sold via lottery at ¥550,000 before tax.

Sunshine and Moon Glow

The heritage brands continue:

Sunshine: Sun Shine Extra Special Whisky is the entry level blended whisky, a continuation of the brand first released in 1953. It is blended from Saburomaru malt and imported grain and malt whiskies, making it non JSLMA compliant.

Moon Glow: Moon Glow Limited Edition 2020 is a premium blended whisky released in limited annual editions. The 10 Year Old expression (Wakatsuru Moon Glow 10 Years Old First Release Whisky) represents some of the distillery’s oldest aged stock in blended format.

SAB. Smoky

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Wakatsuru Shuzo

Saburomaru SAB. Smoky Blended Whisky

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Saburomaru SAB. Smoky Blended Whisky at 46% ABV is the most accessible Saburomaru product. It is a blended whisky that includes Saburomaru’s peated malt alongside imported components, which means it is not JSLMA compliant. However, it serves as the best introduction to the distillery’s peated style for drinkers outside Japan.

The tasting profile shows coastal smoke and earthy peat on the nose, with hints of green apple and vanilla. The palate is medium bodied with clean peat smoke, toasted rice, and a balanced smokiness. The ZEMON still influence comes through in the malt component’s smoothness.

JSLMA Compliance

This is where Saburomaru gets complicated. The blended products, including SAB. Smoky, The Sun blended releases, Moon Glow, and Sunshine, contain imported malt or grain whisky from Scotland. This disqualifies them from labeling as Japanese Whisky under the JSLMA standards established in February 2021 (full compliance enforced April 2024).

The single malt expressions distilled entirely at Saburomaru using Japanese malted barley and matured in Japan should meet JSLMA requirements. However, the distillery has not prominently promoted JSLMA certification on its labels or marketing materials. Buyers should check individual bottle labeling.

For context: Saburomaru is a JSLMA member organization (confirmed in our database), which means the company has agreed to follow the standards. The non compliance applies to specific products that use imported stock, not to the distillery’s capabilities.

Visiting Saburomaru

Saburomaru is located at 208 Saburomaru, Tonami City, Toyama 939-1308. It is the only whisky distillery in the Hokuriku region.

For more distillery tour planning, see our complete visitor guide.

Getting there: Tonami Station (JR Johana Line) is the nearest station, about 20 minutes by car from the distillery. From Toyama Station, take the JR Johana Line to Tonami (approximately 30 minutes). A taxi from Tonami Station is the most practical option. By car, the distillery is accessible from the Hokuriku Expressway via the Tonami IC exit.

Tours: Available by reservation. Contact the distillery at 0763-37-8159 or through the Wakatsuru Shuzo website (wakatsuru.co.jp). The adjacent Taishogura (大正蔵) is a renovated Taisho era (1912 to 1926) warehouse that serves as the visitor center, hosting tastings, a shop, and cultural exhibits about Toyama’s sake and whisky heritage.

What to buy on site: Distillery exclusive single cask bottlings are occasionally available. The Taishogura shop carries the full range of Saburomaru and Sunshine products.

How Saburomaru Fits in Japan’s Peat Landscape

Japan has a handful of distilleries that take peat seriously. Yoichi Single Malt from Nikka’s Hokkaido distillery uses coal fired pot stills for a rugged, maritime smokiness. Chichibu The Peated from Venture Whisky offers floor malted peated expressions at craft scale. Akkeshi Hakuro from Hokkaido’s Akkeshi Distillery draws on local peat and Islay inspired methods.

Saburomaru’s contribution to this landscape is distinct. The ZEMON still produces a base spirit that is reportedly smoother and sweeter than conventional copper, which means the distillery can push peat levels to extremes (80ppm in some expressions) without the harsh, acrid edges that sometimes appear in young heavily peated whiskies. Reddit reviewers consistently note this quality: the smoke is intense but controlled.

The distillery is also one of the few in Japan actively developing its own cask program using locally sourced Mizunara, which adds another dimension to the regional character.

What to Try First

For most people outside Japan, Saburomaru SAB. Smoky Blended Whisky is the realistic entry point. It is available through international retailers and offers a genuine taste of the distillery’s peated style at a mid range price point.

If you can find them through auction or Japanese retailers: the numbered Tarot series single casks are the most talked about releases among whisky enthusiasts. The Sun annual releases showcase the distillery’s evolution year over year.

For collectors and historians, the Sunshine brand represents an unbroken lineage to 1953 and a regional whisky tradition that predates the current craft boom by decades.

FAQ

What is the ZEMON pot still at Saburomaru?

ZEMON is the world’s first cast bronze pot still, developed in 2019 by Saburomaru Distillery in collaboration with Oigo Seisakusho, a Takaoka bell foundry. It is made from approximately 90% copper and 8% tin, drawing on the traditional Takaoka copperware (dōki) craft. The alloy is reported to produce a cleaner, rounder distillate compared to conventional copper pot stills.

Is Saburomaru whisky JSLMA compliant?

Some Saburomaru products contain imported malt from Scotland, which disqualifies them from JSLMA Japanese Whisky status. Products like SAB. Smoky, The Sun blended releases, and Moon Glow blends are not JSLMA compliant because they include imported whisky. The distillery’s single malt expressions made entirely from Saburomaru distillate should meet JSLMA standards, though this has not been widely confirmed.

Can you visit Saburomaru Distillery?

Yes. Saburomaru Distillery is open to visitors in Tonami City, Toyama Prefecture. Tours are available and can be booked through the distillery’s website or by phone at 0763-37-8159. The adjacent Taishogura heritage building hosts tastings, a shop, and cultural exhibits. The distillery is about 20 minutes by car from Tonami Station.

What does Saburomaru whisky taste like?

Saburomaru is best known for heavily peated whiskies. The house style features coastal smoke, earthy peat, and a distinctive clean sweetness attributed to the ZEMON cast bronze still. Reviewers on r/JapaneseWhisky describe the peat character as well controlled, with notes of bonfire smoke, pine, vanilla, and a maritime quality. The distillate avoids the acrid edges common in young heavily peated spirits.

What is the Sunshine whisky brand?

Sunshine (サンシャイン) was Wakatsuru Shuzo’s original whisky brand, first released in 1953. It served as the main label for decades, sold primarily in the Toyama and Hokuriku region. Today, the Saburomaru name is reserved for single malt and premium releases, while Sunshine continues as the heritage blended whisky line.

How does Saburomaru compare to other peated Japanese whiskies?

Saburomaru stands alongside Yoichi (coal fired pot stills), Chichibu (floor malted peated expressions), and Akkeshi (Islay inspired Hokkaido terroir) as one of Japan’s serious peat producers. What sets Saburomaru apart is the ZEMON still, which reportedly creates a smoother, sweeter base for heavy peat. At 80ppm in some expressions, Saburomaru reaches Octomore territory while keeping the smoke controlled and approachable.