Komoro Distillery Festival 2026: A Story of “Connection” Tied by Whisky — Asaka, Kanosuke and Komoro with Ian Chang (Nagano, Japan)

2026.10.05

In short: my report from Komoro Distillery Festival 2026 in Nagano, Japan, and a special session by three distilleries — Asaka (Fukushima), Kanosuke (Kagoshima) and Komoro (Nagano). A 13-year “connection” between Kanosuke’s Ishihara-san and Komoro master blender Ian Chang, formerly of Kavalan; whiskies reflecting each distillery’s backbone; and an open spirit of collaboration. Part 1 of my four-part festival report by Mika Tanimoto, owner of Bar Little Happiness in Hiroshima.

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I went to Komoro Distillery Festival 2026!

My main reason for going to this festival was to hear a special session by three distilleries getting a lot of attention: Asaka Distillery, Kanosuke Distillery and Komoro Distillery.

Listening to the stage and feeling the festival’s warm atmosphere, only one word stayed deep in my heart.

That word is go-en — “connection.”

A 13-year “connection” tied by whisky

You can’t talk about this session without the mysterious connection between Ishihara-san of Kanosuke Distillery and Ian Chang, master blender of Komoro Distillery.

(**Ian Chang is a world-class blender — a true superstar.**)

The story goes back to a whisky festival in Tokyo in 2013.

Ishihara-san and his wife attended, in the front row, a seminar by Ian, who was then at Kavalan Distillery.

At the seminar, given through an interpreter, the room went quiet at Ian’s jokes — but apparently only Ishihara-san and his wife reacted, full of curiosity.

Their eyes met with Ian’s again and again, and that is how their friendship began.

Years passed, and Ishihara-san moved from a job with nothing to do with whisky to Kanosuke. (This episode is so interesting that I’ll write about it another day)

After meeting again at a global forum in 2024, at this festival Ian himself named “Ishihara-san of Kanosuke” as a speaker, and that is how this wonderful session came about.

It was also revealed that the MC, Fujiwara-san of Komoro Distillery, and Kurobane-san of Asaka Distillery were once fellow bartenders who pushed each other to improve in Sendai.

Seeing the two of them stand on the same stage again, in different roles, I felt a strange pull.

I, too, once had the chance to hear Ishihara-san’s seminar in Hiroshima. I couldn’t forget how much fun it was, and I had been wishing, “I want to hear them speak again!”

March 21 and 22 are the busiest days of the month for my bar.

Even so, maybe the reason I couldn’t resist the strong pull — “I have to go to Komoro now” — was that I, too, had been drawn into this great whirlpool of connection.

A tasting where respect crossed paths

In the session, whiskies that strongly reflected each distillery’s “backbone” were presented.

The atmosphere of praising each other’s individuality was truly refreshing to watch.

Asaka Distillery (Fukushima):

Run by Sasanokawa Shuzo, which has 260 years of sake-brewing history.

Mr. Kurobane talked about efforts to bring delicate elements like the “ginjo aroma” unique to sake into whisky, and introduced a limited bottle with complex layers, using casks from oak trees over 100 years old.

Kanosuke Distillery (Kagoshima):

Inheriting Komasa Brewery’s shochu know-how: casks used for “Mellow Kozuru,” traditional “worm tub” condensers, and the presence of koji.

It creates a spicy, muscular flavour with real body.

Komoro Distillery (Nagano):

What Ian champions is a “spectrum of spirits” and “balance.”

Making an ally of the harsh natural environment at 910 metres above sea level, they presented a whisky with a refreshing feel, as if surrounded by forest — hard to believe it had matured for just over two years.

Collaboration toward the future

What impressed me most at the end was the open solidarity between distilleries.

Near the end of the session, when Ishihara-san of Kanosuke shared a dream — “Someday I’d like to make something together with Komoro Distillery, too” — Ian replied that he was “very open to it.”

An attitude of “we want to lift Japanese whisky as a whole industry, not just ourselves.”

And at its centre, after all, is the warm “connection” between people.

I felt the pull of that connection becoming a great force.

Among Ian’s words was this: “The best way to know the makers is to go to their distillery.”

I myself have visited many distilleries in Japan and abroad.

I agree!!!!

The feelings and ambitions of the people involved are all different, but time spent at a distillery full of love for whisky gives you a special feeling.

I can’t wait to see what the new connections born in Komoro through this festival will turn into, in taste, five or ten years from now.

People who love whisky find themselves connected before they know it.

It was the best festival, under that mysterious, warm spell.

Next, I’ll dig deeper into “the role of craft” nurtured by these connections, and into each distillery.

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

“Whisky and rum taste even better when you touch the hearts of the people who make them.”