The Akkeshi distillery only started operations about 6 years ago and is already writing a success story. Like its role models on the whisky island of Islay, the first distillery of the city of the same name in the Hokkaido region is located directly by the sea - only a few meters from the Pacific Ocean. Surrounded by swamps, it also has direct access to the local peat. The distillery publishes its acclaimed whiskies in the "24 Solar Term Series" – a series based on the ancient Asian calendar, in which a year is divided into 24 solar years. The latest and fourth release in the series is Shosho 2021. Shosho stands for the end of summer. Warm and bright like late summer, the blended malt brings together some of the best malt and grain whiskies from around the world. The distillates come from a wide variety of cask types such as mizunara, bourbon and sherry. Sounds like an excellent taste experience? The jury of the World Whiskies Awards 2022 saw it the same way and awarded Shosho the best blended whisky.