Ichiro's Malt maker opens new base in Tomakomai, Hokkaido, as grain distillery comes fully on stream
The grain-only Tomakomai Distillery, built in Hokkaido by the maker of Ichiro's Malt, reached full operation in January 2026, moving towards a blended whisky made entirely from Japanese-produced spiri
Why a grain-only distillery was built in Hokkaido
Blended whisky is made by combining malt whisky, produced solely from malted barley, with grain whisky, made mainly from cereals such as maize. Venture Whisky, known for Ichiro’s Malt, has until now produced its malt spirit in Chichibu, in Saitama Prefecture, north-west of Tokyo. Now Venture Grain Co., Ltd., headed by founder Ichiro Akuto, has built a grain-only distillery in the city of Tomakomai in Hokkaido, Japan’s largest island in the far north. The aim is an Ichiro’s Malt whose spirit is made entirely in Japan. Akuto believes Hokkaido’s cool climate and large temperature swings suit whisky making, and he also thinks highly of Tomakomai’s soft, low-hardness water.
From maize to new make
The raw materials are maize and malt. They are imported through Tomakomai port, about 15 minutes away by car, and stored in four silos around 13 metres high. The distillery uses a combined 22 tonnes of raw materials a day. The maize is cleaned of foreign matter, then finely crushed and cooked with heat and pressure to soften the starch. Because maize contains no enzymes to produce sugar, the mash is cooled to 60–65 degrees and crushed malt is added, then left for about an hour to convert the starch into sugar. Fermentation takes place for 72 hours in 15 stainless steel tanks, producing a fermented liquid (wash) of about 8% alcohol by volume.
Distillation uses a long-established Coffey (patent) still. It is said to be less efficient than the latest continuous stills, but its advantage is that it retains more aroma and flavour compounds. Even with equipment 13 metres tall, the points at which the spirit is cut are decided by people, who check aroma and taste and adjust in steps of 0.1% alcohol by volume. Dear WHISKY, which visited the distillery, reported that the freshly distilled spirit (new make) had little alcohol harshness and a rich, sweet aroma. The spirit is reduced to 63.5% ABV and filled into casks, which are stored upright and stacked on pallets. The three warehouses hold about 60,000 casks, but they are expected to fill up quickly, and construction of new warehouses is planned.
On site just after start-up, and how to enjoy it in Europe
Plant manager Takahiro Hashimoto says the team is still settling the direction of production in a new location with new equipment. As equipment is broken in, the flavour changes too, so he stresses keeping quality consistent throughout. Ayano Takimoto of the production department recalls that in the winter just after start-up, night-time temperatures fell to minus 20 degrees and the pipes froze.
Grain spirit is matured in cask before it becomes a product, so it will take years before Tomakomai spirit is bottled. In the meantime, one way to enjoy the style is to taste a Coffey-still grain whisky on its own. It shows clearly the cereal sweetness and soft texture that form the foundation of a blend. Once an Ichiro’s Malt made with 100% Japanese-produced spirit is announced, there will also be the pleasure of checking the label and accompanying notes for the origin of the grain spirit and comparing it with the current blend.
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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