Shirakawa 1958 Liquid History - Miniature

Fair.

Shirakawa 1958. Liquid History. One of 80 not for sale promotional miniature bottles. 50ml. 49%. In presentation box.

Established in 1939, 200km north of Tokyo, the Shirakawa distillery was built by Daikoku Budoshu. Its parent company, Takara Shuzo, purchased the multi-purpose distillery in 1947, dedicating it to malt whisky production for Takara's blends from 1951 to 1969, but never releasing it as a single malt.

Later, Shochu distilling resumed at Shirakawa, and the distillery's whisky was believed to have been blended away, but in 2019 Stephen Bremner, MD of Takara's Tomatin distillery, made enquiries with his Japanese colleagues who eventually found a limited amount stored in stainless steel tanks at another Takara facility.

This 1958 Shirakawa whisky was likely aged in Mizunara wood before being moved to ceramic jars and eventually stainless steel tanks. Unfortunately, the exact age is unknown due to records being lost during the 2003 demolition of the distillery, however, there is no denying the importance of this find for Japanese whisky.

At 49% cask strength, Shirakawa 1958 has been bottled in a limited edition of 1500 bottles. Takara Shuzo confirmed there is no more Shirakawa whisky remaining, making this the only Shirakawa that will ever exist. A genuinely unique Japanese single malt whisky that deserves the title of Liquid History.