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, volcanic island in the most northern part of Japan.
A few days back, our Senior Distiller, Taura-san arrived in Rishiri.
Now we just need all the equipment in place, have the final license inspection, receive approval, and then we are good to get distilling. Close. Things are moving fast now.
Our stills from Vendome, America’s most iconic still maker, fittingly, arrived on the 4th of July to our team’s emotional firework reception.
Our team was excited, not quite ready for what was about to come.
A truck, longer than our distillery, arrives:
Let’s pause for some Forklift Porn, a sub-genre of Construction Porn.
The master had a jerry-rigged plan. No-one thought it would work. Skepticism was palpable.
Some wooden trolleys collapsed under the weight, some unbalanced moments, but we were able to get the condensers through the doors.
Our saviour, Shiraita-san.
The speed of his problem-solving was amazing. In a pinch, he went to the local electric power station to grab chain winches. Without those hoists and pulleys we would have never have gotten the system in place.
This was the scariest part:
It was a lot of team work. Different members flourished at different times. Everyone stepped in, everyone contributed. It will be a day all of us will remember.
A beautiful team. A beautiful system.
And, of course, you need a barbecue to finish.
Our distillers are ready to make some sublime whisky.
A couple of more steps and we will be a real distillery.
Well not, really, maybe the 2nd most harrowing part. There were some moments with the chain hoist and pulley system that I could barely watch, peaking through my fingers with my hand over my eyes.
Beautiful history , but... how tasty was that barbacue challenge? need more info ...
Awesome photos. Great to see it all coming together. And all the personalities involved.