Suntory Yamazaki Distillery (Shimahonmachi, Osaka Prefecture) underwent major renovations in 1989. The company's efforts to improve quality led to its worldwide reputation in the 2000s.
Up until now, the distillery has expanded and updated its various facilities. Factory manager Norihisa Fujii, 60, who joined the company in 1985, recalls, "It's changed a lot since I started working."
Initially there were two distillers, but now there are 16 distillers of different shapes and sizes. Two types of fermentation tanks are used: wooden and stainless steel. These facilities are utilized to create a variety of different types of unblended sake.
Trial and error continues to improve quality. In the malting process, we intentionally revived some of the traditional and labor-intensive ``floor malting'' method.
At the Pilot Distillery, a small distillery facility for quality research and technology development, we have introduced a hybrid still that can be heated electrically in addition to the conventional direct fire. The purpose is to be environmentally friendly and to analyze heating conditions in detail.
Some things remain the same within the distillery. It is a town road that passes through the center of the site, which is also written in the facility layout plan when the facility was first opened.
Employees arriving for work early in the morning exchange greetings with familiar housewives who are heading up the mountain. Elementary school students run energetically during the time to go to and from school. It is also the approach to Shiio Shrine located at the back of the distillery.
Nearby Minase Shrine (Shimamoto Town) has the ``Rikyu no Mizu'' that was selected as one of the ``100 Famous Waters'' by the Environment Agency (currently the Ministry of the Environment) in 1985. It is said to be from the same water vein as the groundwater used in the distillery. There are always people with bottles in hand at water collection stations.
The president of the Rikyu Water Preservation Society, which protects this famous water, has been the distillery's factory manager for generations. In addition to conducting water quality tests and repairing pumps, they work together with residents to regularly clean the shrine.
While cleaning, Fujii was approached by a local man. "It's been under construction recently, but are they going to renovate it again? It may be the face of Suntory, but it's also the face of Shimamoto and Yamazaki."
The distillery is currently undergoing renovations, with completion scheduled for this fall. The planting around the entrance and the tour facilities will be significantly renovated. Fujii enthusiastically says, ``I want to protect the distillery so that people can be proud of it.''
Factory tours are currently canceled due to construction. Before the coronavirus outbreak, there were many foreign participants. ``Children passing by were cheerfully saying ``hello,'''' said Shinji Fukuyo, 62, the chief blender. "We hope that the number of visitors will be positive and not cause trouble for the local community." As a member of the local community, we will continue to make better whisky.
