Hakushu First Class

Hakushu was the third distillery built by Suntory, established in 1973 to shoulder some of the malt production burden for Yamazaki. The latter’s grain production had moved entirely to the new Chita distillery the year prior as well. Hakushu was built at the foot of the Southern Japan Alps, a location deliberately chosen by Suntory to provide a contrast to the style of spirit produced at Yamazaki. Interestingly, a second distillery was built in 1981 (referred to as Hakushu East) which has stills of varying shapes and sizes which are able to produce a wide range of distillate character. This is in contrast to the now-dormant old site (referred to as Hakushu West) which had 24 large stills identical in shape and size, but only capable of producing one particular style of distillate. The first Hakushu single malt was bottled in 1994.

This rare Hakushu was bottled in 2024 in collaboration with the nearby Moegi Village (Moegi no Mura) tourist complex. The village was founded by Joji Funaki in the 1970s, beginning as a humble coffee shop. With an aim to combat overdevelopment and protect the surrounding nature, the village has since developed to include a hotel, restaurant, brewery, and various workshops and attractions. It was inspired by missionary Paul Rusch, who is known for his work in redeveloping parts Japan after the second world war. This bottle was named after a quote from a letter of advice that Rusch wrote to Funaki; "Do your best, and it must be First Class".

The whisky itself is a cask-strength vatting of five vintages, each marking a milestone in the foundation and development of the village;

The limited expression was made almost entirely exclusive to the Bar Pech in the village, and just four bottles were made available for public sale.

One of 200 bottles.

Please note due to the size of this lot, it will carry a two-bottle shipping fee.