The First Cask Sakurao Ever Released to a Bar
2026.6.29
Sakurao Distillery has done private bottlings before — for companies, for retailers. But never for a bar.
I can only guess at the reasons. Two come to mind.
For a distillery, holding a wide range of maturing spirit is part of the work itself. Variety in the warehouse is what makes future blending possible. Every cask released is one option removed from that range.
And there is a second. Japan has an enormous number of bars — tens of thousands of them. Release a cask to one, and the requests start coming, and then someone has to decide which bars get one and which don’t. No distillery wants to be in the business of drawing that line. Easier, and fairer, to say no to everyone.
In 2026, Sakurao made its first exception.
This is the first time Sakurao has released a cask to a bar. There has been no other, anywhere in Japan.
The first one went to a small bar in Nagarekawa, Hiroshima.
The bottle
Distillery: Sakurao Distillery, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima
Bottle: Sakurao Single Cask, 100% Japanese Malt, 1st Fill Bourbon Barrel — “Traveling Lito”
Strength: 62%, cask strength
Bottles: 171
Distribution: Not sold to the public. Whisky bars across Japan only
Significance: Sakurao has done private bottlings for companies and retailers, but never for a bar. This is the first.
Years of being turned down
“When we reach twenty years, please let us do an original Bar Little Happiness bottling.”
For years and years, whenever the chance arose, I said this to the people at Sakurao Distillery.
Every time I asked, my heart raced. Was I putting them in a difficult position?
But I wanted it so badly that I kept asking, year after year.
And year after year, the answer was no.
Why I kept asking
I was born in Hiroshima, raised in Hiroshima, and have lived my whole life here.
And here is where I will stay.
I have watched them from close by, ever since their whisky making began.
(Probably the day I first visited Sakurao Distillery)
(I’ve brought guests, staff, fellow business owners — all kinds of people here.)
(Going back through the photos, I found how many different groups I’d brought, and remembered that they even prepared a panel like this for us. Thank you.)
And then they said yes
The people at Sakurao Distillery found the courage to say yes.
A line they had held for a long time was crossed.
I had my own twenty years, with everything they contained.
But with this bottling, it feels as though all of it has been repaid. I feel clear.
Who Is Lito?
On the label is a small spirit named Lito.
Lito was born as the guardian of Bar Little Happiness — a being into whom twenty years of feeling have flowed.
Her story is told in a separate column.
We are not keeping it to ourselves
From here, these bottles will travel to bars across Japan — bars that live with whisky, and bars connected to us — delivered little by little as we reach out to them.
Only 171 bottles exist.
Slowly, our Sakurao will begin appearing on bar counters all over the country.
If you ever meet our Sakurao at a bar near you,
I hope you will take your time with it, and talk a little about Hiroshima.
If a day comes when Sakurao releases casks to other bars too, that would be the best outcome. The fact that the first one came here might make it easier for whoever comes next.
About Bar Little Happiness
We hold Sakurao across the full range — distillery-only releases, malt-bar-only bottlings, duty-free exclusives, and our own single cask. About 30 minutes by train from Sakurao Distillery, in central Hiroshima. No cover charge, no reservation needed, and every bottle is labelled with its price.
Whisky and rum taste better when you know the hearts behind them.
Every encounter is meant to be. Welcome to the world of Rum & Whisky.
Mika Tanimoto / owner-bartender, Bar Little Happiness. Opened 2006. A whisky and rum bar in Nagarekawa, Hiroshima, with over 1,000 bottles on the back bar.
About This Bottle
Sakurao Single Cask, 100% Japanese Malt, 1st Fill Bourbon Barrel
Bar Little Happiness 20th Anniversary Bottling
“Traveling Lito”
Cask strength 62% / Limited to 171 bottles
Not sold to the general public.
We are contacting bars across Japan so that it can be enjoyed at their counters.
🔗 Online shop: https://shop.little-happiness.jp
[About the author]
Mika Tanimoto
CEO, Little.m Inc. / Owner-bartender
Since 2006, I have run Bar Little Happiness, a whisky and rum bar in Nagarekawa, Hiroshima. I visit distilleries in Japan and around the world and write about the people who make the spirits. Recipient of the Hiroshima City Excellent Skilled Worker Award.
“Whisky and rum taste even better when you know the hearts of the people who make them.”
[Visit the bar] 📍 Bar Little Happiness
Rolling Nagarekawa 1F, 5-14 Nagarekawa-cho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima
Mon–Sat 7:00 pm – 12:30 am / Sun 7:00 pm – 12:00 am (closed when I travel to visit distilleries)
No cover charge, no reservation needed
