15 January 2025
RESERVE MET
FINISH DATE
17 December 2024

    • Shirakawa 1958 Vintage

    70cl

    Winning Bid
    £7,400
    Shirakawa 1958 Vintage
    70cl
    Lot #1331283

    This incredibly rare and limited release single malt, is believed to be the earliest known single vintage Japanese whisky ever bottled. The story behind this 1958 vintage is truly remarkable and is rooted in Scotland. When the whisky was distilled in 1958 it was initially held in wooden casks, the type of wood and for how long they were used is unknown. At some point the whisky would've been transferred to ceramic pots of a type that commonly age Shochu, until finally been moved to stainless steel tanks. When the distillery was mothballed it is thought that the remaining whisky stocks were transferred Shuzo's Takanabe factory (now Kurokabegura) and held in stainless steel tanks where it was slowly forgotten about. Fast forward many years until Stephen Bremner, Managing Director Of Tomatin became interested in the parent company, Takara Shuzo's history of whisky production. After a protracted search and speaking to many staff in Japan, the tanks were uncovered, the whisky sampled and the resulting whisky was bottled for this release. It is a Non-age Statement whisky due to the manner in which it was matured and the fragmented information available of its history.

    Shirakawa

    Much of the history of Shirakawa Distillery is lost in the mists of time. Though it’s history spans nearly six and a half decades – 1939 to 2003 – the distillery’s glory days were the 1950s and 60s. Shirakawa was opened in Fukushima Prefecture, approx. 200km north of Tokyo, in 1939 by Daikoku Budoshu, a large wine and spirits producer. The distillery was then acquired following the Second World War by Takara Shuzo in 1947. The Shirakawa distillery operated for over six decades, however, only produced malt whisky between 1951 – 1968. In its latter years, its buildings were used solely as a bottling plant before being eventually demolished in 2003. The land where Shirakawa once sat was gifted by Takara Shuzo in 2011 to build emergency housing to accommodate the locals who had been displaced by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Takara Shuzo was responsible for saving Tomatin distillery in 1986 when he and another Japanese partner bought the distillery, making it the first Scotch Whisky distillery to be owned by the Japanese.

    Lot Features
    • BOTTLER
      Official Bottling
    • DISTILLERY
      Shirakawa
    • TYPE
      Full Size
    • SIZE
      70 cl
    • STRENGTH
      49%
    Region
    Japan
    Japan

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