Prices
Prices and stock come from each retailer's website. Check with the store before you buy.
More from this distillery: All Akashi (Eigashima) whiskies and prices
About
What it is
The standard single malt from Eigashima, the Hyogo distillery trading as White Oak and selling under the Akashi name. Bottled at 46% with no age statement. Eigashima has held a whisky licence since 1919 but didn't put out a single malt until 2007.
Where it comes from
Distilled at Eigashima in Japan. Beyond that, be careful: Eigashima also bottles blends containing whisky it didn't distil, and we haven't located a producer statement confirming this bottling against the Japan Spirits and Liqueurs Makers Association standard. Compliance can't be inherited from the distillery, it has to be stated per product.
How it's made
Here the sources genuinely disagree, and rather than pick one we'll say so. Reputable retailers variously describe this as three years in bourbon casks, four to seven years in bourbon and sherry, five to eight years in bourbon, sherry and brandy, and a vatting of four, five and seven year old malts in Spanish and American oak. Stated ages range from three to eight. That spread suggests either significant batch variation or several different bottlings being sold under the same name in different markets. What is consistent across every source is that the malt is lightly peated and the distillery runs whisky production for only a short window each year.
What to expect
Given the above, expect variation between bottles. Broadly: light malt, chamomile and honey, some vanilla from the bourbon wood, and a faint smokiness. Reviews are genuinely split, with some finding it elegant and others finding it young and thin for the money. It sits at a price point where a lot of drinkers feel it's asking too much.
How it compares
The cask specific Akashi releases, the five year bourbon, the sherry and the sake cask, all tell you exactly what's in them and come in at 50%. If the vagueness here bothers you, those are the better buy. Against Hatozaki Pure Malt from nearby Kaikyo, Akashi has the advantage of being distilled on site, where Hatozaki is openly built on imported malt.
