Their story
Shibui launched in late 2020 with nine expressions aged as long as 30 years. It is part of IND Beverages, founded by sisters Lauren and Rachel Simmons, and co-owner Nicholas Pollacchi, who previously led global PR for several well-known Scotch houses, heads its whisky program.
The range draws on distilleries in two parts of Japan: Okinawa, where spirits are made from local long-grain rice, and Niigata, where blending and multi-cask aging take the lead.
How it's made
The Okinawan whiskies come from distilleries that traditionally make awamori, the island's rice spirit. Long-grain Indica rice is fermented in a single step with black koji and yeast, then distilled in stainless steel stills, some once and some twice. The spirit is aged in casks that include ex-bourbon, sherry and Japanese mizunara oak.
There's a false economy around scarcity in Japanese whisky
Why we carry them
We like Shibui for anyone curious about rice-based whisky, which tastes quite different from malt. The sherry cask bottlings are a good place to start.
Find more makers like this in Provisions Club, our curated subscription.
Explore Provisions Club