Nestled deep within the valleys of southern Kagoshima, Tsunuki Distillery is where Japan’s storied shochu heritage meets a bold new era of single malt whisky. Born of extreme climate swings, mountain purity, and the generational craft of Honbo Shuzo, Tsunuki is quietly building the identity of “southern malt”—powerful, textured, and unmistakably of its place.
🌄 Land & Legacy: A Shochu Heart Beats in the Mountains
Tsunuki sits in a secluded mountain basin in Minamisatsuma, just a few kilometers from the East China Sea, yet protected on all sides by green ridgelines. This is Honbo Shuzo’s birthplace—founded in 1872, and renowned for its artisanal shochu.
Here, the distillery isn’t a foreign transplant—it’s a natural extension of local culture. Generations of fermentation knowledge, yeast handling, and precise heat control flow directly into whisky-making. Tsunuki doesn’t reject its roots—it distills them.
❄️ Climate: The Southern Extremes
The basin climate is dramatic: scorching summers reaching 36°C and frosty winters dipping below freezing. This extreme range creates rapid cask breathing, accelerating interaction between spirit and wood.
Humidity is high, rainfall abundant, and maturation is vigorous yet balanced, resulting in bold, structured whiskies with notable depth and seasonal nuance.
You can taste the sun. And the shadow.
💧 Water & Materials: Soft, Slow, Sacred
The distillery draws from pristine spring water flowing from the Kurata Mountains—low in minerals, soft and smooth. The whisky is double-distilled in copper pot stills with distinct shapes—short and robust for the wash still, tall and narrow for the spirit still—designed for a rich, oily base perfect for aging.
Barley is primarily imported, but casks are diverse: bourbon, sherry, wine, and even Japanese oak. Some rest in Tsunuki; others mature at the cooler Mars Shinshu site, adding geographic depth to the final flavor.
🔥 The Soul of Southern Whisky
Tsunuki’s whiskies lean full-bodied: dried fruit, nutmeg, roasted malt, and a gentle but firm backbone. The house style echoes the boldness of southern cuisine and the warmth of shochu—a whisky of place, with both weight and grace.
Whisky here doesn’t whisper. It speaks with conviction.
🧪 Philosophy: Tradition with a New Still
While Mars Shinshu explores highland elegance, Tsunuki embraces lowland richness. The distillers are often former shochu craftsmen, blending intuition with precision, and viewing whisky not as a product but as a patient companion to time.
There’s no hurry here. Only heat, memory, and faith in the cask.
🥃 What You Taste in a Glass of Tsunuki
Expect structure—matured fruit, brown sugar, pepper spice, and a resinous oak that lingers long. It’s a warm, amber-hued profile, wrapping you in southern sunlight and centuries of distilling history.
This is strength.
