Mit dem vierten Fassprogramm seit der Eröffnung dieses Geschäftsfeldes bietet der Onlinehandel dekantã Fässer der Gakkogawa Distillery, die seit 2021 in kleinen Mengen (400 Fässer pro Jahr) destilliert. Gründer Junpei Sato stammt aus einer Familie, die seit mehreren Jahrhunderten renommierten Sake herstellt und nun mit den selben hohen Qualitätsstandards in die Whiskyerzeugung investiert.
dekantã hat uns zu diesem neuen Programm Bilder und Informationen gesendet. Bei Interesse nutzen Sie die Webseite von www.dekanta.com.
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Gakkogawa Distillery – A Shonai Whisky with Pedigree
Built by one of Japan’s oldest and most respected sake families, Gakkogawa’s made in Shonai spirit represents a bold new chapter in Japanese whisky and they have just started offering private cask ownership through dekantã.
The Gakkogawa Distillery was founded in 2021 by Junpei Sato, a lifelong sake maker who dreamed of expanding his family’s company to offer a variety of alcoholic beverages proudly made in Shonai. It was this vision, combined with a deep passion for whisky, that inspired him to open his own distillery.
His family’s sake companies, Tatenokawa Shuzo and Owujiman (dating back 190 and 300 years respectively), are widely regarded as some of the very best in Japan thanks to a range of careful processes built around precision and mastered over several hundred years. This allows them to release some of the most sought after expressions in the premium Junmai Daiginjo sake category.
From a unique rice polishing process, that involves achieving a 1% RPR (Rice Polishing Ratio), something that was never believed to be possible until Tatenokawa Shuzo achieved it in 2016, to utilising the ultra-soft Chokaisan subsoil water, they have redefined the boundaries of sake, pursuing purity, precision, and elegance in every drop.
By carrying these expertise and their desire to innovate over to the whisky world, they have already won Silver at the 2024 World Whisky Awards for their New Pot – an early sign of the distillery’s potential.
“A ‘Silver’ award is certainly better than having nothing. But ‘Silver’ means there’s ‘Gold’ above it.”
Junpei Sato, CEO & Founder
The team here is one of eager, hungry, passionate young whisky-makers who work closely together, exhibiting a strong team spirit and collective whisky knowledge, to create a new make that is smooth, fruity and pure.
One area where this ethos shows is in their approach to cutting the heart of the distillate. At Gakkogawa, cuts are made as a team, with members all tasting the new make at several points throughout the distillation process, freely sharing their opinions and coming to a group consensus on when the liquid is good enough for the cuts to be made. This differs from many distilleries around the world, where Master Distillers make these decisions alone.
While each member has their own ideas, they share a common vision of the Gakkogawa whisky they want to make. By taking a democratic approach to such a critical decision, each and every cut involves the consideration of an entire team. This unique approach ensures that the new make produced at Gakkogawa is smooth, fruity, balanced and perfect for maturation.
A key contributor to their success is the use of ultra-soft Chokaisan subsoil water – renowned as some of the purest in Japan and a vital ingredient in their whisky.
“My responsibility is to provide a platform where they can grow into the kind of person who will be valued not just here, but wherever they go next.”
Junpei Sato, CEO & Founder
Sato-San has also installed state of the art equipment, including stainless steel thermal fermenters and custom Miyake copper pot stills – enabling precise, low temperature distillation.
A small distillery, with an annual output of around just 400 casks, the team at Gakkogawa are initially maturing their whisky predominantly in new and old bourbon barrels but have also laid down spirit in Sherry, red wine, Mizunara and sake seasoned Mizunara casks.
Gakkogawa’s inaugural whisky release is expected to arrive in Summer 2027, but through a global partnership, dekantã has exclusive access to just 36 of these for the year 2025, which are available for their customers to buy.
Cask purchases come with opportunities to sample the liquid, visit the distillery, and create your very own independent bottling of Gakkogawa single malt whisky.
Gakkogawa is dekantã’s fourth official cask partner, alongside Karuizawa Whisky, the Ontake Distillery and Kiyokawa’s Iiyama Mountain Farm Distillery, highlighting the burgeoning nature of the Japanese whisky cask industry.
Japanese Whisky casks are available exclusively through www.dekanta.com
