Eigashima is a distillery located near to the city of Kobe. The whisky production forms a very small part of their current business, as they concentrate on the production of two of Japan’s most popular alcoholic drinks – sake and shochu (a drink that can be distilled from potatoes, barley or rice and has to be 25% ABV. It is commonly drunk at meal times and is mixed with hot water or Oolong tea). Traditionally, all of the whisky produced at Eigashima has been used in a blend called ‘White Oak’. This blend also includes some American grain whiskey. The first Eigashima single malt was only released in 2007, as the low production rate means that very little whisky is aged for long enough to be considered for single malt bottling. When the occasional releases happen, the whisky is named as ‘Akashi’.