Shirakawa 1958 Japanese Whisky

SHIRAKAWA 1958 This incredibly rare and limited release single malt is believed to be the earliest known single vintage Japanese whisky ever bottled. It will be the only official single malt ever to be released from Shirakawa Distillery. Our challenge was to celebrate the release of this whisky in harmony with Japanese culture and craft. In Japanese culture, gold is used extensively in decoration and symbolises wealth and prestige. To capture this, we used a black wood grain which emulates a technique called yakisugi [also known as shou sugi ban] whereby wood is charred for preservation and weather proofing. This conveniently links to the process of charring the casks for whisky making. We embraced the Japanese concept of “ma ma” (pronounced “maah”), meaning uncluttered simplicity: everything has its place. It’s similar to a jyubako box used to present food on celebration days, so one door reveals the book and the other the precious spirit. The bottle shape is a softened square which reflects the changes that happen to whisky over time - smoothing and rounding. We crowned it with a paper seal which is a classic Japanese method of presentation.