A very rare find! Only 2,400 pieces worldwide! This Yamazakura Pure Malt was bottled at cask strength in the spring of 2015. Since this whisky was produced at the old Yamazakura distillery, which closed in 1998 after merging with the Sasanokowa distillery, it is actually older than stated. Capacity: 550 ml – 59% ABV. Sasanokawa Shuzo (Bamboo-River Brewing) has been producing sochu and sake since 1710. They began producing whisky in 1946 at the Yamazakura distillery in Koriyama City, which closed in 1998. The Akuto family (owners of Toa Shuzo, which released blended malt whisky from the Hanyu distillery, vatted Scotch whisky from the Aberlour distillery, and bottled under the Golden Horse label) sold their Hanyu stock to Sasanokawa in 2000, which stored the whisky in its barrel cellar along with its own aging stock. Ichiro Akuto brought back most of this stock to release as the first Ichiro's Malt whisky—the now-infamous Carta series. In 2015, the company decided to convert the sake warehouse into a whisky distillery, using the sake fermentation tank as a washback. The only new equipment purchased was a pot still and mash tun. In 2016, it officially began operations as the Asaka Distillery. In 2022, Asaka Yamazakura Sherry Wood Reserve 2022 received the award for "Best Blended Malt Whisky in the World." Please note: Insured shipping, to EU countries only.