Three Years in the Cask: Sapporo Shusei Releases Its First Corn Whisky Made with Hokkaido Corn
A Hokkaido industry-government-academia project has produced its first three-year-aged whisky made mainly from local corn, limited to 640 bottles.
Spirit Born from the Corn of the Northern Land
On 16 September 2026, Sapporo Shusei Kogyo, a drinks maker based in Sapporo on Hokkaido, Japan’s large northernmost island, launched “Sapporo Corn Whisky Kai”. The main ingredient is Hokkaido-grown maize, and both the brewing water and the malt also come from Hokkaido. It uses spirit aged for three years, and production is limited to 640 bottles.
When people think of Japanese whisky, malt whisky made from malted barley and the grain whisky blended with it are the best known. Whisky made mainly from maize tends to bring to mind American bourbon and corn whiskey. Hokkaido is one of Japan’s leading maize-growing regions, and the novelty of this bottle lies in making a Japanese corn whisky from that local crop.
A Project Run by Industry, Government and Academia
This whisky is the result of the Hokkaido corn whisky development project, which has run since the 2021 fiscal year and is led by the Hokkaido Research Organization, a public research body in Hokkaido. Research institutions, companies and the region have worked together with the aim of carrying out everything from raw materials to finished product within Hokkaido. The new product is the first to be shipped commercially after the spirit produced in this project completed three years of maturation.
Interest in whisky-making is growing in Hokkaido. It has also been reported that the Forest Products Research Institute of the Hokkaido Research Organization is researching how to make casks for western-style spirits from Hokkaido timber. The effort to source everything locally, from ingredients and water to casks, is one part of a wider trend in which Japanese whisky seeks to express a sense of place.
What European Readers Should Note
With only 640 bottles, it is unlikely that this one will reach Europe. Even so, it offers a chance to see how Japanese whisky is moving beyond a sole focus on malt and towards making use of local grains. Those familiar with bourbon or Irish grain whiskey may find it interesting to see how the sweetness and softness that come from maize show up in spirit matured in Hokkaido’s cool climate. It is a name worth remembering for when longer-aged spirit appears, or if exports begin.
Sources
This article was written by The Sake Wire editorial team, summarising the public sources listed above. Images are our own.
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