White Oak distillery is located in Akashi near the town of Kobe in Japan, and is also used for the production of sake as well as whisky. The distillery is owned by Eigashima Shuzo Co. Ltd. The original distillery was founded in 1888 and was the first in Japan to obtain a licence to distil spirits in 1919. The modern distillery was built in 1984 to distil whisky and, according to some whisky experts in the Malt Whisky Yearbook 2008, it never really came into its own. In the 1980s demand for whisky fell as the Japanese market fell in love with shochu instead. As a result, White Oak distillery has spent most of its life supplying whisky for blends.
That is until 2007 when White Oak’s first single malt was released; an 8-year-old under the label Akashi. This was an extremely limited bottle with only 4,500 ever produced. The young age-statement on this whisky also demonstrates the lack of aged stocks available at White Oak to use as a single malt. However, White Oak have since released a 10-year-old, a 14-year-old, and a 15-year-old expression that have renewed interest in this somewhat unknown distillery. These rare bottles sell for hundreds of pounds on the secondary market and at auction to those who would like to try a dram of White Oak whisky.
Record-Breaking Bottles: White Oak Edition
The top three most expensive White Oak bottles on Dram Data are:
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- Akashi White Oak 15-year-old for £527
- Akashi White Oak 15-year-old for £330
- Akashi White Oak 15-year-old for £300
The top three most expensive White Oak bottles on Whisky Auctioneer are:
- Akashi White Oak 15-year-old for £290
- Akashi White Oak 14-year-old for £285
- Akashi White Oak 15-year-old for £270
The top three most expensive White Oak bottles on Whisky Stats are:
- Akashi White Oak 14-year-old for £286
- Akashi White Oak 15-year-old for £192
- Akashi White Oak for £66
Where In The World To Find White Oak
White Oak blended whisky is available through multiple retailers such as Master of Malt and Amazon. However, the White Oak Single Malts are harder to find, although Master of Malt do have one available on their website. The bottling that is available is a non-age-statement bottling, yet another consequence of the current Japanese whisky shortage. Due to high demand, aged stocks have depleted rapidly and distilleries find themselves having to release non-age-statement whisky to compensate for the lack of stock.
White Oak bottlings are not very common but are always a good choice for whisky-lovers looking to expand their horizons to something rare and distinctly Japanese.