[Fukushima Prefecture] Tohoku's first whiskey event "Whiskey Collection Koriyama" will be held in Koriyama City, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary as a city!

Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture will celebrate 100 years since its establishment as a city in 2024.

``Whiskey Collection Koriyama,'' was held in this commemorative year

Koriyama City is celebrating its 100th anniversary, and Japanese whiskey is celebrating its 101st anniversary!

Yamazaki Distillery, Japan's first malt whiskey distillery, was established in 1923 (Taisho 12) in Yamazaki, on the border between Osaka and Kyoto, by Shinjiro Torii, the Construction began on.

Since then, it has continued to support the core of Japanese whiskey culture, and in 2023 it will celebrate its 100th anniversary.

Currently, Japanese whiskey has risen to the level where it is said to be one of the five major whiskeys in the world, and there are a number of whiskey distilleries in Japan, including Suntory's Yamazaki Distillery and Hakushu Distillery, and Nikka Whiskey's Yoichi Distillery and Miyagikyo Distillery. The number of locations has rapidly increased to over 110, including those currently planned by 2024.

The first whiskey event in the Tohoku region “Whiskey Collection Koriyama”

The Tohoku region's first whiskey event, "Whiskey Collection Koriyama," will be held at Hotel Hamamatsu in Koriyama City for two days, October 26th (eve festival) and October 27th, 2024, and will feature distilleries, importers, event organizers, and event organizers from all over the country. The event was held with 39 exhibitors including restaurants.

List of exhibitors (in no particular order)

1. Acorn Ltd. (Saitama Prefecture)
2. Whiskey Culture Research Institute (Tokyo)
3. Kizakura Co., Ltd. (Kyoto Prefecture)
4. Gaia Flow Shizuoka Distillery (Shizuoka Prefecture)
5. Kiuchi Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. (Ibaraki Prefecture)
6. Single Cask Japan x Asaya Shoten (Kanagawa Prefecture/Saitama Prefecture)
7. Chichibu Whiskey Festival (Saitama Prefecture)
8. Nagahama Roman Beer Nagahama Distillery (Shiga Prefecture)
9. Nagoya BAR Non Pete & Rose Bank (Aichi Prefecture)
10. Hokkaido WHISKY & SPIRITS (Hokkaido)
11. Marcpage (Tokyo)
12. Asahi Breweries, Ltd. (Tokyo)
13. Aloha x Whisuki (Tokyo)
14. Whiskey Lovers Nagoya Executive Committee (Aichi Prefecture)
15. Wine and Whiskey BaPhare by Vin et Bonheur (Miyagi Prefecture)
16. Kimura Co., Ltd. (Hiroshima Prefecture)
17. Kanosuke Distillery (Kagoshima Prefecture)
18. SAKURAO BREWERY & DISTILLERY (Hiroshima Prefecture)
19. Shinjuku Whiskey Salon x Saki Glass (Tokyo)
20. BAR fishborn (Hokkaido)
21. Venture Whiskey Co., Ltd. (Saitama Prefecture)
22. Maoi Distillery (Hokkaido)
23. Yusa Distillery (Yamagata Prefecture)
24. RUDDER LTD./THE ULTIMATE SPIRITS (Tokyo)
25. Liquors Hasegawa Main Store (Tokyo)
26. Claire Life Partners Co., Ltd. (Tokyo)
27. Dear WHISKY (Tokyo)
28. Fukushima Kenminami Shuhan Co., Ltd. (Fukushima Prefecture)
29. Niigata Kameda Distillery/Yoshida Denzai Distillery (Niigata Prefecture)
30. Highlander inn (Tokyo)
31. Scotch Malt Sales Co., Ltd. (Tokyo)
32. Kataoka Bussan (Tokyo)
33. MIZUNARA: In TOKYO (Tokyo)
34. Miyake Manufacturing (Tokyo)
35. Sasanokawa Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. (Fukushima Prefecture)
36. Ariake Sangyo Co., Ltd. (Kyoto Prefecture)
37. Honbo Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. (Kagoshima Prefecture)
38. Bar MILLESIMES (Miyagi Prefecture)
39. HIROMI ENTERPRISE CO.,LTD. / emu (Tokyo, Fukushima Prefecture)

Various initiatives were held at each booth, including free tastings of whiskey, paid tastings of vintage and rare whiskies, business introductions of each company, and event promotions.The main stage was held by Miyake Seisakusho (Tokyo), Introduction of distillation equipment including pot stills by Japan's only independent barrel making company, Ariake Sangyo (Kyoto Prefecture), the importance of barrels and the behind-the-scenes story of production, and Kataoka Bussan Co., Ltd. (Tokyo), introducing British barrel manufacturing. Various open seminars were also held, including an introduction to the wheat manufacturer Crisp.

The highlight was a talk between Mr. Ichiro Hito of the Chichibu Distillery in Saitama Prefecture, which is famous for "Ichiro's Malt" Mr. Tetsuzo Yamaguchi of the local Asaka Distillery in Koriyama. session. Many whiskey fans were seen asking for autographs from both men.

Situation of the day

On the same day, the Rakuto Koriyama Memorial Parade will be held to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the construction of Koriyama City. There was also a special Disney parade, so the center of Koriyama was crowded with people.

I headed towards the venue, Hotel Hamamatsu, against the wave of people heading for the parade.

Even though we arrived 30 minutes before the venue opened, there was already a long line! Apparently, many people were looking for rare whiskeys that were sold in limited quantities!

At the venue, everyone was enjoying the event in their own way, with people listening to seminars, enjoying tastings at various booths, and waiting in line for rare whiskey sales.

Sasanokawa Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. and Asaka Distillery in Koriyama City .

Asaka Distillery's whiskey is sold under the name "Sasanokawa Sake Brewery", which is a bit confusing, but the whiskey is manufactured in a traditional earthen warehouse inside the Japanese sake brewery "Sasanokawa Sake Brewery". This will be the Asaka Distillery.

Minami Shuhan Co., Ltd. is a liquor wholesale company based in Koriyama City, whose first president is Tetsuzo Yamaguchi, the 8th generation owner of Sasanokawa Sake Brewery .

create a unique blend called 963 By the way, "963" is the postal code of Koriyama City.

Yusa Distillery, located in Yuza Town, Akumi District, Yamagata Prefecture, has become a hot topic in recent years due to its high level of perfection .

Due to our small scale operation, we currently do not offer tours of the distillery, so events like this are a valuable opportunity to interact with the distillery.

Bar MILLESIMES a bar located in Kokubu-cho, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture . This is one of Sendai's long-established bars, celebrating its 19th anniversary and offering rare single malts and cocktails.

Highlander Inn a hotel and bar located in the village of Craigellachie in the Speyside region of Scotland, the home of Scotch . This is a famous bar that attracts whiskey lovers from all over the world, and the owner and bartender is Tatsuya Minagawa, a Japanese native of Yamagata Prefecture.

In Japan, there are stores in Tokyo and Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture.

summary

This was my first time participating in an alcoholic event like this, but I learned a lot from drinking too much of the free samples and getting exhausted from walking too much. At alcoholic events, pacing is important!

It was an event that I hope will be held again next year, as I think it will be a smarter way to enjoy it next time. As a whiskey fan, I'm really happy that events like this are being held in Tohoku!

Whiskey Collection Koriyama <Information>

• Name: Whiskey Collection Koriyama
• Event dates: Two days, October 26th (eve festival) and 27th, 2024
• Venue: Hotel Hamamatsu (the eve is at Koriyama View Hotel main building)
• Official URL: https://wc-koriyama.com/