April 25, 2024

AFTrade Shop and The Akkeshi whisky were featured in "TK55 Gifts from the Earth_hokkaido and the highlands"!

You can find this article on pages 106-107.

Please take a look at the excerpts from the publication.

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THE SHIMA ENEGA or “snow fairy” is a variety of long-tailed bushtit, a native species in Hokkaido that is glimpsed during winter months. Its pure white plumage and cartoon-like appearance have captured the imagination of artists and designers across Japan, and images of the endearing creature appear on everything from home ware to mochi and rice cakes. Akkeshi Distillery, named after the small Hokkaido town where it was founded in 2016, has also drawn inspiration from the shima enega, featuring the shy bird on its Single Malt Blender’s Choice 2023 Bourbon Barrel #1891, part of a new collection released in Hong Kong.

Aged in a bourbon barrel selected by Master Blender Katsuyuki Tatsuzaki, the whisky reveals notes of citrus and sweetness alongside the characteristic peaty flavors that have earned Akkeshi Distillery the moniker “Little Lagavulin.” It was Masataka Taketsuru, “the father of Japanese whisky,” who, as a chemist, traveled to Scotland in 1918 to study distillation and paved the way for Akkeshi Distillery to combine traditional Forsyths pot stills and peated barley with the unique flavors of Hokkaido to produce its distinctive single and blended malts. The distillery lies in the heart of preserved marshes in Bekanbeushi Wetland. Rolling sea fog blankets the town, and during maturation, the whiskies benefit from the ion-rich salty sea air which helps to give them their Islay-like taste and aroma profiles. Also included in the new Hong Kong collection are four labels representing the distinct seasons experienced in Hokkaido: Keichitsu (Life Awakens) for spring, Shoman (Nature Thrives) for summer, Hakuro (Glistening White Dew) for autumn, and Taisetsu (The Great Snowfall) for winter. Every bottle has been aged in either new mizunara oak casks or a combination of sherry, wine, bourbon, and mizunara casks to express the seasons’ key flavors, from notes of zesty citrus and tropical fruit to charcoal and black tea.