Eigashima Shuzo began as a small family producer of sake in 1679. In 1888, Eigashima took the unusual step as a small company to formerly incorporate in the city of Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture. In 1919 Eigashima was licensed to produce whiskey and for this reason they are sometimes considered the “oldest whisky producer” in Japan. However, they didn’t actually own any pot stills so they were not producing anything that could authentically be called whiskey. The modern history of Eigashima begins in 1961 when they first began distilling their own whiskey in small quantities. In the 1970’s they upgraded to the current pot stills and then built a separate facility in 1984 which they called White Oak Distillery.
