SASAKAWA WHISKY Co., Ltd.

SASAKAWA WHISKY

Japanese whisky
From the sacred peak of Fuji
Where the water goddess dwells
Spun from the eternal, offered to the world

Creating the World’s Finest Whisky

A unique level of
commitment
Individuality of
the
distiller
Maturation
environment

A unique level of commitment

Natural mineral water from Mt. Fuji

Water is held to be the prime ingredient for whisky. Snowmelt from Mt. Fuji is filtered over many decades by seven layers of basalt. We draw up this refined natural water and use in unchanged for our distilling.

Direct-fired distilling

At our Fugaku Distillery, we insist on using direct fire for the initial distilling. Using direct flame toasts the moromi, the fermented malt (wash), creating an aromatic, strongly-scented new pot.

Wooden barrel fermentation

Fermentation in wooden barrels allows the complex fermentation of yeast and lactobacillus to form even more creative malts.

Individuality of the distiller

Our distillers come from many different backgrounds, but they all believe in the importance of trying new challenges through their own creativity. Each distiller is given the best possible environment so they can hone their skills.

Maturation environment

Located 1,000 meters above sea level, surrounded by extensive green forests. With a cool climate year-round and a moist land where fog is common, this is the perfect environment for maturation. Here, over time, we create the ne plus ultra of fine whisky.

Founder’s Vision

Shohei Sasakawa Managing Director

My family, the Sasakawas, launched a sake brewery in Minoh, Osaka Prefecture, in the Edo period (1603–1867). This business stayed in the family for over 100 years, until my grandfather, Ryoichi, set off in a different direction. Both he and my father, Yohei, devoted themselves to endeavors for the betterment of society, seeking to contribute to Japan’s growth as a nation.

Back in my college days, I became infatuated with rugby, a passion that drew me to the culture of the birthplace of that sport, the United Kingdom. Once, on a visit to Scotland, I had my first sip of aqua vitae and was amazed by its rich flavor. It was a life-changing encounter that filled me with the desire to become a whisky distiller. Afterwards, I toured numerous distilleries to study how whisky’s flavor is woven from earnest dedication to the whisky making process and from harmony with nature.

I, Shohei Sasakawa, have opened up the Fugaku Distillery in Fujiyoshida to return to our family’s roots in liquor making. Here, we produce Japanese whisky in the bountiful natural environment surrounding Fujisan, sparing no effort as we leverage Japan’s finest whisky making expertise and sophisticated distilling traditions.

Managing Director 笹川正平

By bringing together our individual ideas,
our common aim is to create the Japanese whisky
the world wants next.

What Our Logo & Corporate Color Represent

SASAKAWA WHISKY

Our logo combines images of Fujisan and the Sasakawa family crest. It embodies our aspiration to craft whisky in harmony with nature, over a very long time.
Our corporate color is a traditional Japanese color called tetsukon (iron dark blue), which originated in the Edo period, the era when the Sasakawas went into the sake brewing business. It is also known as a color of liveliness or victory, and thus expresses our desire to fully activate the yeast we use, as well as our robustly and richly flavored whisky.

Name

SASAKAWA WHISKY CO., LTD.

Location

Fugaku Distillery:
4918-1 Kamiyoshida, Fujiyoshida-shi, Yamanashi 403-0005, Japan

Tokyo Office:
Room 204, PMO Shibuya II, 3-1-1 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0002, Japan

Founded

March 2021

Managing Director

Shohei Sasakawa

Fugaku Distillery

4918-1 Kamiyoshida, Fujiyoshida-shi, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan 403-0005

Car: 8 minutes from the Chuo Expressway’s Kawaguchiko Interchange
Bus: Take an expressway bus to Kawaguchiko Station and then take a taxi (10 min., 5.4 km)
Train: Ride to Fujisan Station and then take a taxi (10 min., 4.3 km)

Tokyo Office

Room 204, PMO Shibuya II, 3-1-1 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan 150-0002

Train: Our office is a 6-minute walk from Shibuya Station on the JR Yamanote Line, or a 4-minute walk from Exit C1 of Shibuya Station on the Tokyo Metro’s Ginza, Fukutoshin, and Hanzomon Lines, or Tokyu’s Toyoko and Den-en-toshi Lines.