The pedigree of Hakushu Distillery begins with the end of World War I, when Shinjiro Torii began Japan's first ever whiskey distillery, called Yamazaki Distillery. Fifty years later, his son Keizo Saji built on his father's legacy with the creation of Hakushu Distillery on Mount Kaikomagatake in Japan’s southern Alps. These two distilleries have the honor of being not only among the most storied in Japan, but also among the most respected. All water used in production of the 18 Year Single Malt - from processing the grain to bringing the whiskey to proof - is sourced from the Ojira and Jingu Rivers, whose waters are particularly soft and pure thanks to their filtration through the area's granite.