Kameda Distillery Visit, Part 2: Wooden Washbacks, Trial and Error, and a Tropical New Make (Niigata, Japan)

2026.10.05

In short: inside Kameda Distillery in Niigata, Japan. How President Douta, a former pharmaceutical MR, builds whisky through “hypothesis and testing”: a side-by-side trial that led to 100% wooden washbacks, long fermentation that gives a tropical, mango-like new make, and a deliberately narrow middle cut. Part 2 of my visit series by Mika Tanimoto, owner of Bar Little Happiness in Hiroshima.

After changing trains more than once, I finally arrived in Niigata.

In Part 2 of my Kameda Distillery visit, I go after the true identity of “that taste” that stunned me at a whisky event.

The moment I stepped inside the distillery, I found a world of astonishing precision — the kind only a president with an unusual background as a former pharmaceutical MR (medical representative) could create.

A former pharma MR’s whisky-making by “hypothesis and testing”: the moment Kameda Distillery’s precise blueprint made me tremble as a professional

If I had to describe whisky-making at Kameda Distillery in one phrase, it would be “layer upon layer of hypothesis and testing.”

The president studied humanities, yet built his career in the pharmaceutical industry. He brought his MR-era way of thinking straight into whisky: read the scientific papers, set up a “control group” for comparison, and test side by side to reach the flavour he has in mind.

This thorough trial and error is exactly what gives Kameda a level of finish you would never expect from a newly built distillery.

Travelling as far as Scotland to find his own answer on wooden washbacks: the side-by-side trial against stainless steel that proved the secret of Kameda’s sweet finish

The first thing that catches your eye inside the distillery is a row of large wooden washbacks.

In fact, when the distillery was founded, the president agonised over whether the fermentation tanks should be wood or stainless steel.

He travelled all over Japan, and even to Scotland, the home of whisky, visiting many distilleries and asking for advice — but every answer was different.

“Then the only way is to make it myself and try.” So he installed both wooden and stainless steel washbacks, filled them under exactly the same conditions, and compared the results — a bold experiment.

The answer he reached was clear.

For the “sweet whisky with a long finish” the president was aiming for, wood was by far the better fit, even though it takes more work.

That is why, today, every batch at Kameda Distillery is fermented in wooden washbacks.

A “tropical” shock of mango and passion fruit: the aroma magic of lactic fermentation, brewed slowly in Niigata

The smell in the fermentation room surprised me all over again.

New make (the spirit before maturation) usually smells fresh, like green apple (or maybe that is just my impression), but Kameda’s had a rich tropical fruit aroma — mango, passion fruit, peach.

The secret of this aroma, I was told, is a longer-than-usual fermentation time.

By deliberately taking time, they let lactic fermentation run its course and draw out the “complex flavours” the president wanted.

On top of that, they pitch more yeast than the standard amount, which gives the spirit real “body.”

Beauty over efficiency: a generous, narrow middle cut — the “magic scissors” that give Kameda whisky its one-of-a-kind elegance

For the president, who states firmly that “80 to 90 percent of a whisky’s quality is decided in fermentation,” the still plays the role of “scissors” that cut out the aromas and flavours born in fermentation.

At Kameda, the way these scissors are used is truly lavish.

During distillation, when they collect the “middle cut” — the heart of the run, where the good flavours are concentrated — they deliberately keep that cut narrow.

They give up efficiency on purpose and keep only the cleanest, most delicious part.

This stoic approach is what creates the “clean, soft spirit” that amazed me.

“I want to put the depth of flavour that remains after maturation, and a long finish, above everything else.”

The spirits born from that wish are now quietly waiting as they mature.

But Kameda’s curiosity does not end here.

In Part 3, I will share an even more surprising “cask experiment” and the future of a distillery that walks hand in hand with its community.

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Every encounter is meant to be. Welcome to the world of Rum&Whisky.

[A note from Tanimoto] This article about Kameda Distillery is based on my own visit, but it also includes some of my personal thoughts and interpretations. Please enjoy it as the musings of one whisky lover.