Reawakening the Distillery

After Winter's embrace, Igniting Spring's Spirit

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.

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This week saw us restart the distillery after closing it down for the winter.

From late December until this week the distillery was closed, the team scattered. Just the whisky aging in the harsh winter winds with snow piling up relentlessly.

What Awaited Us

We had snow up to the to top of our distillery windows. A couple windows almost broke from the weight of the snow.

Broke the quality of our picture too! 😂

Broken pipes, bent air conditioner, ventilation shield no longer shielding anything, busted toilet. What a few short months of Rishiri’s winter weather can do to our infrastructure.

The Spring Equinox in Rishiri brought plenty of wind and cascading snowflakes:

But, just 5 minutes later, Spring!:

Rishiri in March, a beautiful interlude between snow storms.

The Team was Off

At the end of December our distillation team scattered to different parts of the world. The distillery was shuttered, with no work to be done, but full pay was received¹.

What did our distillers get up to during the break?

Javier, our Head Distiller, spent it:

Kent, our newest distiller, spent it²:

You Need to Smell It

In addition to the snow, we were also greeted by the sublime smell of aging whisky.

From the first days of this whisky startup journey I fantasized about one day walking into the warehouse and being met with a perfume wall of aging whisky.

Opening the shutters to the warehouse after months of being sealed built up a delectable aroma.

Our aging barrels (at sunset) smell godly good.

Every Step By Hand

Literally. Every step by hand.

Our local hero, Kimura-san, bringing grains from our “warehouse” in the snow to the distillery.

Kimura-san. The local that everyone should have on their team. Every morning: “How are you?” “Awesome!.” Never not having a smile on his face. Photo credit: Javier Negrete

Distillation Goals

At Kamui Whisky K.K. we only make single malt Japanese Whisky. Only of the highest quality.

Every distillation the hearts are cut with care and patience.

Last year we distilled 36 barrels and boxes of Kamui Genshu. That was while needing to overcome a whole bunch of problems.

This year our plan is 50 barrels, aiming for 10,000L of proof (58.5% ABV) single malt whisky. Which will include a limited quantity of our Kamui Genshu with new labels that have the vintage year on it.

We overcame a lot last year. We expect this year to be much smoother on many fronts, but that could just be entrepreneurial optimism. With unyielding resolve, we will navigate the ebbs and flows of startup uncertainty with resilience and grace, we will build further on the foundations we established last year in our first full year of distillation.

Javier, our Head Distiller, contemplating the year ahead.

Part of the beauty that goes into our Whisky. The volcanic mountain that is the source of our unique water. It gets filtered through the volcanic rock and sits below the island for half a century before coming out in natural springs.

1. Not a bad perk! We’re hiring :)

2. Take 2!: “See you. Goodbye~~~”