Komoro DistilleryActive

Komoro Distillery is currently one of the most highly anticipated, hyped, and ambitious projects in the modern Japanese whisky landscape. Backed by serious investment and helmed by one of the world's most famous modern Master Blenders, it is positioned to become a global luxury brand. Because the distillery only began laying down casks in 2023, its first official mature whisky is slated to hit the market in late 2026. Here is a comprehensive breakdown of everything you need to know about Komoro.

• 2019Karuizawa Distillers Inc. (KDI) is founded by Koji and Yoshie Shimaoka
• 2020Master Blender Ian Chang officially joins the project as co-founder
• 2021The Komoro Distillery project and its location are publicly announced
• 2023Construction is completed, the visitor center opens, and distilling officially begins in July
• 2025KDI reveals plans for a second, significantly larger distillery named Furaliss in Hokkaido
• 2026Komoro hosts a Whisky Festival in March to celebrate the upcoming three-year maturation mark
• 2026The inaugural 3-year-old "First Release" single malt is scheduled for a winter launch
• 2028Projected completion and opening of the Furaliss distillery

Water

The distillery draws its water from a pure, local mountain source known as "Nomatori."

Stills

One Wash Still: 5,000 liters One Spirit Still: 7,200 liters

Capacity

0.5M liters/year

Type

The Komoro Distillery has two copper pot stills. (Forsyths)

Operating Hours: The distillery is generally open from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM, with final admission at 6:00 PM (last orders at the bar are at 6:30 PM). They do have irregular closure days, so booking your tickets and time slots in advance online is highly recommended.