News Release: Hakkaisan debuts rare “Uonuma 8-Year” rice whisky, the brewery’s first-ever whisky release

Hakkaisan Brewery Co., Ltd., long known for its premium sake from Niigata’s Uonuma region, has entered the whisky category with the launch of Hakkaisan Single Grain Uonuma 8-Year Rice Whisky 2025 LIMITED, the company’s first whisky product. The limited release began in 2025 via lottery and selected bars in major cities.

Produced at the Fukasawahara Distillery in Uonuma, the whisky is crafted from domestically grown rice and malted barley, fermented with sake yeast and distilled in pot stills. Only house-made rice-based distillates, matured for eight years in American white oak and French oak casks, are used in the final blend, resulting in a style that Hakkaisan describes as a “rice grain whisky” that is still rooted in traditional whisky-making methods.

Bottled at 52% ABV in 700 ml format, the expression is characterized by an amber color; aromas of citrus followed by chocolate and vanilla; and a palate that layers gentle rice sweetness with notes of dried fruit, nutmeg-like spice and a hint of caramel bitterness. The limited run is being offered through periodic lottery sales on Hakkaisan’s online store between 2025 and early 2026, emphasizing the rarity of the release.

For Hakkaisan, the whisky marks the culmination of two decades of work in distilled rice spirits. The brewery began producing authentic rice shochu in 2005, added barrel-aged variants in 2016, and has since applied its brewing expertise—especially in water management, yeast and blending—to whisky. Future plans include potential blended whiskies combining Uonuma’s rice grain spirit with malt whisky from group company Niseko Distillery in Hokkaido, underlining Hakkaisan’s ambition to become a serious player in Japan’s craft whisky scene.

For more information, please visit their website at: https://www.hakkaisan.com/