Yamazaki Distillery / YAMAZAKI. WHERE IT ALL BEGAN IN 1923.
The Yamazaki Distillery is Japan’s first and oldest malt whisky distillery established in 1923 by Suntory's founder Shinjiro Torii.
Inspired by traditional Scottish whisky, Torii envisioned a Japanese approach by choosing a terrain and climate completely different to those of Scotland to create a unique kind of whisky. The Yamazaki Distillery is thus the birthplace of Japanese whisky. Nestled proudly on the periphery of Kyoto, this region was formerly referred to as "Minaseno", where one of the purest waters of Japan originates.
Yamazaki is also home to Sen no Rikyu, Master of "The Way of Tea." Yamazaki Distillery is where the Katsura, Uji and Kizu rivers converge, providing a unique misty climate and one of Japan’s softest waters. The diversity of this region’s temperature and humidity creates ideal conditions for cask aging, known as the signature "Suntory Maturation".
Hakushu Distillery / HAKUSHU. WHERE INSPIRATION CONTINUES.
The Hakushu Distillery was founded half a century after Yamazaki. Keizo Saji inherited his father’s vision in his quest for innovation and constructed this second Suntory distillery in 1973.
Keizo Saji, the second Master Blender, inherited his father’s quest to push the boundaries of what a Japanese whisky could be. He had searched all over Japan for high quality water that will become the most delicately aromatic to produce whisky that people would love. After searching with tenacity to the headstreams of rivers and deep into rugged mountains, he found Hakushu.The Hakushu Distillery is without question one of the highest distilleries in the world, built amidst the deepest forests of Mt. Kaikomagatake in the Japanese Southern Alps.
The majestic forest that surrounds the Hakushu Distillery shelters an abundance of plant varieties reflecting the many expressions of Japanese nature. The malt whiskies born here are simultaneously blessed with a very particular microclimate, verdant forests, and water offering a rare softness and purity, only made possible by filtration of rain and snow through thousand-year-old granite rocks.
Chita Distillery / CHITA. THE GRAIN DISTILLERY.
In 1972, Keizo Saji—Suntory's second Master Blender—took a momentous step forward in pursuing Shinjiro Torii’s vision for diverse and truly Japanese whiskies blessed with the riches of Japanese nature and craftsmanship. On the misty, calm shores of Chita Peninsula, Keizo built a distillery dedicated to creating the highest-quality Japanese grain whisky.
