Tenkyo Distillery releases limited-edition Aizu-matured 'KAZE 921'

Tenkyo Distillery in Bandai, Fukushima Prefecture (a town in the inland Aizu region, about 250 km north of Tokyo), released “KAZE 921 FIRST EDITION 2026” on 21 September 2026. It is a whisky made from spirit distilled in Scotland, matured in Aizu, Japan, and finished using the distillery’s own maturation system. It is limited to 921 bottles at 61.7% ABV, priced at 27,500 yen including tax. The “921” in the name refers to 21 September, the birthday of founder Shunsuke Koike. It is planned as a series to be released on the same date every year.

Scottish spirit laid down in Aizu

According to Tenkyo Distillery, Koike began investigating how whisky matures in Aizu’s climate before the distillery’s own facility was even completed. He sourced “new make”, freshly distilled spirit before it goes into casks, from three distilleries in Scotland. It was filled into 189 casks of 58 different types in total and left to mature in Aizu. Small amounts were then drawn from each cask and added to the “KAZE Solera System”. A solera system is a method in which a little of the matured spirit is drawn off and replaced with newer spirit, and it is best known from Spanish sherry production. This year’s 921 was created by blending spirit from this solera, centred on two particularly well-matured Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. The distillery says the same blend will never be made twice.

What the “Made in the UK” label tells us

For European readers, the labelling deserves attention. The product information gives the country of origin of the ingredients as “Made in the UK (malt whisky, grain whisky)”. Under the voluntary standards of the Japan Spirits & Liqueurs Makers Association, an industry body, only whisky that has been fermented, distilled and matured in Japan may call itself “Japanese whisky”. This announcement does not use that term. A whisky that matures imported spirit in Japan and states clearly what was done and where is a straightforward example when thinking about transparency in labelling.

A bottle dressed in Aizu craftsmanship

The bottle’s presentation draws on Aizu’s traditional crafts. The label is made of Dekegahara washi, a hand-made paper with straw from Aizu-grown barley worked into it, and each one is printed individually using traditional letterpress. The stopper is finished with “ishime-nuri”, an Aizu lacquerware technique. It is bottled at natural strength, with no colouring and no added water, and the distillery describes aromas of nuts with maple syrup and spice, and dark cherry coated in chocolate.

It is sold only through the distillery’s online shop and its on-site shop, and no overseas sales have been announced. Even so, there is something here for European readers. When choosing Japanese whisky, getting into the habit of checking the back label to see where the spirit was distilled lets you tell “imported spirit matured in Japan” apart from whisky made in Japan from distillation onwards. Because the strength is high, it is worth starting with a little water to open up the aromas.