Shizuoka

Shizuoka whisky comes from the Gaiaflow Shizuoka Distillery, a small craft distillery in the hills of Shizuoka Prefecture, between Tokyo and Nagoya. Gaiaflow was founded by Taiko Nakamura, and the distillery began producing spirit in the second half of the 2010s, part of a new wave of Japanese malt distilleries.

What sets Shizuoka apart is its stills. One pot still, known as K, was rescued from the closed Karuizawa distillery. The other, known as W, is a wood-fired still, a rare way of heating a still today. Spirit from each still is kept apart, and the distillery works with both imported and Japanese barley.

The ranges reflect this split. Prologue K and Prologue W were early single malts from each still, followed by the 1st Edition releases of Pot Still K (made from Japanese barley) and Pot Still W (made from imported barley). United S brings spirit from both stills together, and Contact S is another young single malt.

Because the distillery is young, most bottlings are a few years old and released in limited numbers, including special editions such as the Automotive Icons release. Buyers comparing bottles should check which still and which barley each release is built on, since that is the main thread running through the range.