DISTILLERY TOUR | SAKURAO DISTILLERY

SAKURAO DISTILLERY
Distillery Tours

The SAKURAO DISTILLERY is located seaside to the Seto Inland Sea, a sea area that is blessed with nature’s riches, and faces the World Heritage Site, Miyajima. Our distillery tour allows you to view the beautiful stills that we use to make our pure Japanese gin which is made with selected ingredients from Hiroshima, and single malt whisky. Fully experience the charm of The SAKURAO DISTILLERY as we take on the challenge of bringing our products from Hiroshima to the world.

WIND OF HIROSHIMA SPIRIT

WHISKY

We are producing single malt whiskies that aged in Sakurao and Togouchi. The aroma and taste are slowly refined by the blessing of nature in Hiroshima.
GIN

The first purely Japanese gin made using ingredients from Hiroshima.
We are producing a purely Japanese gin that uses ingredients from Hiroshima, such as lemon and other citrus, oyster shells, as well as cherry blossoms, and has been distilled using traditional English distillation methods.
DISTILLED IN HIROSHIMA

Distilling cultivated by the climate of Aki.
Hiroshima is surrounded by the serene Seto Inland Sea and the abundant greenery of the Chugoku Mountains. From our founding in 1918 to now, we have always brewed and distilled amid the rich climate of Aki.

The SAKURAO DISTILLERY is a distillery that is managed by SAKURAO Brewery and Distillery, a company that has been devoted to brewing and distilling since its founding over 100 years ago. At this distillery, you can take a tour of our production processes for malt whisky, grain whisky, and gin. Fully enjoy the charm of SAKURAO through an opportunity to broadly experience our whisky and gin production processes in which we have paid special attention to every detail, including the selection of ingredients from Hiroshima, our custom-made stills, the use of traditional English distillation methods, and more.

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The Production Of Hiroshima’s One-and-only Gin.

You can take a tour of the stills for our purely Japanese gin that uses ingredients from Hiroshima, such as lemon and other citrus, oyster shells, as well as cherry blossoms, and is created using a combination of traditional, steeping and vapor methods.

Our Distinctive Malt Whisky.

You can view our stills that are used to make malt whisky that is created only using malt as an ingredient. Our malt whisky has gone through a process that has been perfected to the smallest detail at every step of the way, from the milling of the malt to mashing, fermentation, double distillation, and barreling. Malt whisky has a characteristically strong and unique flavor.
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Milling And Mashing Of Grain Whisky Ingredients.

The SAKURAO DISTILLERY grain whisky is made with Japanese barley and malt. Milled barley and malt are added to warm water, and the mixture is heated up to break down the starches in the barley into sugar with the enzymes from the malt. The process that happens here is called mashing.

Slow Fermentation Over Time.

The mashed, porridge-like liquid is cooled to around 25°C, and yeast is added to begin fermentation.
The mixture is placed in a fermentation tank for about three days, and once fermentation is complete, a mash with an alcohol content of about 10% will be ready.
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Distilling Grain Whisky Using A Custom-made Still.

A custom-made still is used to distill our grain whisky, producing a new-make (unaged) with a high-concentration of alcohol.

Barreling The New-make In Casks.

The unaged malt whisky and grain whisky are barreled. Casks of bourbon, sherry, and so on are used.
After being aged, the malt and grain whiskies are blended and produced as a blended whisky.
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Aging Of At Least Three Years.

The barreled whisky requires a minimum storage period of three or more years. Our whisky is aged over time in two storage with different temperatures: one within the SAKURAO DISTILLERY and another inside a tunnel on a discontinued section of a JR line within Togouchi, Akiota Town, Hiroshima Prefecture.

Fully Enjoy The Flavors Of Our Products With A Tasting.

You can see the appearance of barrels that are slowly aged over time in our storage.
Visitors who are participating in our paid tour will be able to enjoy a tasting at the end of the tour.