2nd Kamui Whisky K.K. Festival; Going Paid
Join us on June 22nd for the Kamui Festival right in front of our distillery. One of the best ways to experience Rishiri and mix with locals. And a new Paid Subscription offering.
Hey, I’m Casey. Welcome to our newsletter, sharing the startup journey of Kamui Whisky K.K. We’ve been busy, but when we aren’t overwhelmed, we’ll share a story as we craft up a whisky distillery on a remote, frozen, volcanic island in the most northern part of Japan.
We are distilling smoothly. Quality is going up. Distilling operations, always with bumps and challenges, are continuous. We are finishing capital upgrades to make things even more smoother.
This year we should increase production over last year, our first year of full distillation, expecting to increase volume between 1.3 - 1.5x. This would take us from being the smallest independent whisky distillery in Japan1 to … still being the smallest independent whisky distiller in Japan 🤣! I’d guess the next smallest whisky distiller in Japan, an independent one, not a Sake distillery doing a bit of whisky moonlighting, is 5 to 10 times larger than us by volume.
No wonder we sell out so quickly.
The 2nd Annual Kamui Whisky K.K. Festival
On Saturday, June 22nd we will have the 2nd Kamui Festival. Right in front of our distillery.
Last year was a big hit. Much of the town came out. Nearly all the young families. Cars were parked along our coast road for, at least, a kilometer in each direction.
The fireworks will be back. We’ll have the food and drinks booths with local Rishiri offerings. Tasting and Kamui Genshu to drink (it should not run out :)). Kamui Genshu to buy (this could very well run out 🙃).
We’ll have the kids corner with a bouncy castle2. And more.
The new, big event will be a 5K Charity Fun Run. There will be a 500 yen entry fee, to be donated to a local Rishiri charity. For all those that finish the “run” they will get unlimited Kamui Genshu drinks for the evening. 🥴
Costumes and wackiness are 大歓迎.
Hotels are almost booked around this time so make your reservations soon!
Going Paid
There will now be a paid tier for the Kamui Whisky K.K. newsletter.
Don’t worry the core newsletter will remain, you’ll continue to get monthly3 updates on our story, for free.
The Paid Subscriber tier arrives with some perks. It is here for people that want to support us4 and the continued sharing of the story.
Here is why you might want to upgrade to Paid:
Support the continued sharing of Kamui Whisky K.K.’s founding, and growth, story
Access to (very) occasional (maybe once or twice a year) secret post(s) with a more sensitive episode than I usually share
First to find out about our new Whisky releases and special offerings
Ability to buy one of our constantly sold out Kamui Genshu bottles (purchase and shipping only within in Japan)
Help propel us to being the world’s #1 whisky
A Moment with Great Friends
Making our whisky on a remote island, perched on top of cliffs above the ocean, with, more often than not, gusty, gusty winds, at times not seeing direct sunlight for days, we can feel a world apart from you when you actually enjoy the unique Rishiri flavor of Kamui Whisky K.K..
A world away, one of our very special readers shared pictures of Kamui Genshu being shared with great friends in Madrid:
On the back of our label we write, “May our spirit strengthen yours.” In a reversal of that, when you share with us pictures of the spirit we work so hard to craft, you strengthen ours.
Please share photos of you enjoying our Kamui Genshu. They strengthen us.
Not fact-checked, but very likely. It’s what many in the industry have confirmed with us.
The bouncy castle was probably the biggest hit out of everything last year.
roughly
Thanks! to the bunch of you who have already made subscription pledges.
I will attend your 2nd Festival in June. Look forward to meeting you soon!