Revived Hanyu Distillery's Second Release Pairs Sherry with Bourbon
Toa Shuzo's Hanyu Distillery in Saitama has taken pre-orders for 'TONE Hanyu Largamente', its second single malt since reviving, limited to 1,600 bottles.
Saitama is an inland prefecture bordering Tokyo to the north. On 1 April 2026, Toa Shuzo, based in Hanyu in that prefecture, began taking pre-orders for its single malt whisky “TONE Hanyu Largamente Single Malt Double Cask Sherry & Bourbon”. The bottle holds 700ml at 51% ABV, and only 1,600 bottles are available. The recommended retail price in Japan is 18,000 yen (excluding tax). For Hanyu Distillery, which resumed distilling in 2021, it is the second product.
From a brewery founded in 1625 to stills running again after 20 years
Toa Shuzo’s history goes back to 1625, when it began brewing in Chichibu, Saitama. It moved its head office to Hanyu in 1941 and obtained a whisky production licence in 1946. In 1980 it installed two pot stills (single distillation stills) and began distilling in-house, but a slump in the whisky market and financial difficulties led it to stop distilling in 2000. The company then concentrated on rebuilding its sake business. Once that sake had won recognition in Japan and abroad and the company’s finances had stabilised, distilling resumed in February 2021. The new pot stills were built from the original drawings by the manufacturer that made the earlier stills, and maturation takes place on the same site as before. It is a fresh start that stays as close to the original as possible.
Two unpeated spirits from sherry and bourbon casks
The first release, “Hanyu GENESIS” (limited to 2,021 bottles), came out in March 2025 and combined two types of spirit. One was an unpeated spirit matured in first-fill casks, that is, casks being reused for the first time after maturing bourbon. The other was a smoky spirit made from malt dried over peat smoke. This time, no peat is used. It is a “double cask” built mainly on spirit matured in sherry casks, combined with spirit matured in first-fill bourbon casks. It has been designed so that the sherry cask’s notes of raisins and spice and the bourbon cask’s sweetness, like maple and honey, sit side by side in one whisky without cancelling each other out.
A name taken from a musical term
Largamente is a performance instruction that composers write in a score, meaning “broadly and richly, at a leisurely pace”. The chief blender likened the blending of the two spirits to composing music, and the name carries the hope that drinkers, too, will take their time over it. The series name “TONE Hanyu” evokes the Tone River.
For European readers, first a word on availability. Pre-orders were accepted only through Toa Shuzo’s own online shop and were limited to two bottles per person. Shipping abroad was not possible either. Even so, that a distillery, 20 years after closing, has used its second release since reopening to show a new direction, unpeated and sherry-led, is a topic that anyone following Japanese whisky should not miss. If you see the names “Hanyu”, “TONE” or “Toa Shuzo” at a specialist retailer of Japanese whisky, do pick one up. At 51%, the strength is fairly high, so try a little neat first, then add a few drops of water and compare how the dried-fruit aromas and honeyed sweetness open up. The same brewery’s sake is also well regarded overseas, and trying that is another good way in to the house style.
References and sources
BARREL365, “Hanyu Distillery’s second release is a sherry & bourbon double cask. Pre-orders open for ‘Largamente’, 1,600 bottles” https://www.barrel365.com/n2604025/
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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