Everything you need to know about Sakurao Distillery

Overview & History

Sakurao Distillery is located in Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, on the shores of Japan’s Seto Inland Sea. The distillery was established in 2018 by Sakurao Brewery & Distillery, a company whose origins date back to 1918.

Although the company had held a whisky licence for decades and was known for the Togouchi brand, Sakurao was created to produce fully distilled and matured Japanese single malt whisky in Hiroshima. The distillery was built to mark the company’s 100th anniversary and represents a major step in its evolution from traditional spirits production to premium whisky making.

Today, Sakurao is regarded as one of Japan’s most promising modern whisky distilleries.

Production

• Spirit Type: Japanese single malt whisky
• Location: Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima
• Founded: 2018
• Stills: Copper pot stills
• Cask Policy: Bourbon, sherry, mizunara, and specialty casks
• Maturation Sites: Coastal Sakurao warehouses and mountain tunnel warehouses in Togouchi

A distinctive feature of Sakurao is its use of two contrasting maturation environments:

• Sakurao Warehouses – Coastal maturation influenced by the Seto Inland Sea
• Togouchi Tunnel Cellars – Cool, stable mountain maturation inside a former railway tunnel

This dual-maturation approach allows the distillery to create whiskies with noticeably different flavour profiles.

Whisky Style

Sakurao whiskies typically show:

• Orchard and citrus fruit notes
• Honey and vanilla sweetness
• Maritime freshness
• Gentle spice
• Clean, elegant finish

Sherry cask releases often introduce richer notes of dried fruit, chocolate, and oak.

Key Expressions

• Sakurao Single Malt Japanese Whisky
• Sakurao Single Malt Sherry Cask
• Sakurao First Release
• Togouchi Single Malt
• Togouchi Blended Japanese Whisky

The Sakurao range generally highlights coastal maturation, while the Togouchi range showcases the influence of mountain-aged whisky.

Significance

Sakurao is an important part of the new generation of Japanese whisky distilleries, helping expand whisky production beyond the country’s traditional centres.

Its combination of coastal and mountain maturation environments gives it a distinctive identity within Japanese whisky, while its recent single malt releases have helped establish Hiroshima as a recognised whisky-producing region.