The Perfect Bottle For Father’s Day – The Akashi Shin

Father’s Day is fast approaching, and that means it’s time to find your old man the perfect bottle to show him what he means to you. Fortunately for you, this year our sourcing team has been working hard behind the scenes to find the perfect gift for dad and today we’re excited to present this beautiful dekanta Father’s Day Exclusive – The Akashi Shin.

A Brief History

Based in Eigashima, Akashi White Oak was founded in 1984, but their history can be traced back hundreds of years to the 1600s, when Eigashima Shuzo was built.

A sake and shochu distillery, Eigashima Shuzo was founded in the Akashi area of the Hyogo prefecture by Urabe Heikichi, a local brewer, and it has remained a family run business ever since.

Located in the western part of Akashi, in an area that was referred to as Nada, or “Open Sea”, the brewery was blessed with fine spring water and prosperous fields that made it an ideal location for producing spirits. Both the location and expert craftsmanship established the company as the premiere producer for Sake and Shochu and they won many awards around Japan for their expressions. They would also go on to win a number of awards on the international stage, though this didn’t happen for many years to come.

As the popularity of their sake grew, Urabe San convinced a number of brewers in the local area to join forces with him, and in 1888 they formed the Eigashima Brewing Company Ltd, with him as the chairman. This was a groundbreaking step at the time, and it is believed to have been the first in the Hyogo Prefecture.  The move immediately positioned the group as a major player in the Japanese economy. 

While their Sake and Shochu business continued to grow, the Urabe family began exploring a new opportunity in the early 1900s. Driven by a love for the excellent Scotch whiskies that were sporadically popping up around Japan, they had the foresight to begin exploring whisky production and became the first Japanese company to obtain a license to produce whisky in 1919. 

With the license in hand, Eigashima started exploring whisky production, using their existing brewing facilities to learn the process.

While they were the first in the country to have a license to produce whisky, it would be some time before they would begin full scale production. In fact, both the Yamazaki and Yoichi distilleries would start producing spirit before them.

After much hard work and dedication, Eigashima finally began releasing their first whisky expressions to the local Japanese market in the 1960s.

For the next two decades, they would continue to slowly grow the business until, in the early 1980s, they decided it was time to get more serious about whisky production – it was time for a dedicated distillery. And so, in 1984, the now famous Akashi White Oak Distillery was built, on the same site as Eigashima Shuzo. The distillery was constructed based on Scottish principles and design, with the original stills being made in Scotland.

Already, the distillery has produced a number of excellent expressions and they have picked up a number of awards for their efforts.

Dekanta Father’s Day Exclusive – The Akashi Shin

Today, we’re presenting you with a superb limited edition whisky that has been given a unique maturation period and brings an elegant, well-balanced range of notes to table – it’s the Akashi Shin.

Produced at Akashi White Oak, this fine whisky was then matured in a single white wine cask for 4 years before bottling at 50% ABV.

The spirit produced at Akashi is smooth, yet punchy, with gentle smoky notes backed up by a soft fruitiness and background saline tones. The maturation period has imparted the liquid with sweeter fruits, a soft nuttiness, white grapes, lemon zest, dry oak and a subtle range of spices.

The aromas and flavours coming from the white wine cask combine excellently with those of the spirit and the results are a unique, well-rounded and fruity expression that has soft peat and tingling sea salt building in the background throughout.

The bottle label is a distinct metallic grey colour with the word “Shin” appearing across the front in both English and Kanji. It’s a smart, polished and premium looking whisky that holds fantastic liquid inside, so it’s sure to impress even the pickiest dad on Father’s Day.

Only 500 bottles of this fine single cask whisky were produced and you can get them right here on dekanta. We’re happy to be able to offer the Akashi Shin as 2020’s Father’s Day Exclusive, so don’t miss the chance to get your hands on this bottle while you can – you won’t find this anywhere else online!

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