Photo/Illutration Wooden casks for storing in Kishiwada, Osaka Prefecture, on March 3 (Ryuichiro Fukuoka)

The Rikyugura sake brewery is looking to the future as it taps into the thriving Japanese whisky market and opened Senshu Whisky Distillery in Kishiwada, Osaka Prefecture.

Kishiwada is also known as a production area of sweet peaches, and there are plans to mature the whisky in casks made of peach trees. The brewery has hired a blender trained at Suntory who is supervising the flavor. 

Rikyugura, which is based in Sakai in the prefecture, spent about 300 million yen ($2 million) to install two types of stills used for distillation.

It plans to produce around 20,000 liters of single malt whisky a year and aims to increase the amount to 200,000 liters after five years. Rikyugura exports 70 percent of its Japanese sake and plans to ship the whisky overseas as well.

Ken Kato, 58, president of the company, hails from Shanghai, China. After working as a bodywork therapist in Japan, he launched a company selling acupuncture-related goods in Sakai.

He acquired Japanese citizenship and took over the management of Rikyugura in 2019.

“Domestic consumption of sake is falling each year. If we want to see the brewery being preserved 100 years from now, we must start new things,” thought Kato and decided to make Japanese whisky, which is now enjoying global popularity.

The whisky is named “Senshu,” and the letters on the label were written by calligrapher Tansetsu Ogino, who wrote the letter for Suntory’s whisky Hibiki. A blender who trained at Suntory will oversee the flavor of Senshu.

“We aim to produce whisky that rivals the global brands,” said Kato.

Since it takes time to mature in the casks, the whisky will be ready in three years.

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