Photo/Illutration Whiskey barrels being aged in the cellar of Gakkogawa Distillery Inc. in Yuza, Yamagata Prefecture (Provided by Gekkogawa Distillery Inc.)

YUZA, Yamagata Prefecture--Buy a cask of whiskey, age it and savor the investment with a tipple now and again. Be advised, this comes at a price.

Industry newcomer Gakkogawa Distillery Inc. is offering the opportunity to become an early investor in its whiskey and benefit as the product ages.

The Yuza-based distillery is a subsidiary of Tatenokawa Inc., a long entrenched sake brewer in Sakata in the prefecture. The company started producing whiskey in October 2023.

It uses subsoil water from 2,236-meter Mount Chokaisan. The reputation of the parent company, which has been in business since 1832, is central to the marketing effort.

Cask owners get to look forward to waiting for the whiskey to mature, while occasionally tasting and checking the product in their own casks.

In two past promotions, the distillery offered casks that had been used to mature bourbon. The casks sold out.

This time, it will use American oak casks in which sherry was aged for 21 months. Whiskey aged in the casks will absorb some of the aroma, flavor and dried fruit-like sweetness derived from the sherry that permeated the wood.

A 200-liter barrel is priced at 3.3 million yen ($22,700), including tax. A limited number of 50 casks will be offered for sale by next March.

Basically, the whiskey will be aged for six years, and delivered in about 700-milliliter bottles, about 200 in all.

After three years of aging, small bottles (200ml) will be delivered each year for tasting to check the maturity. 

“Each barrel matures in its own unique way, giving you a unique whiskey with a different flavor,” a distillery representative said.

For more information, visit the Gakkogawa Distillery’s website (https://gakkogawa.com/en/).

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