☄️ The King of Monsters Meets a Legendary Liquor Store: A Masterpiece Named “Rodan”

2026.10.05

In short: “RODAN,” a Heaven Hill 2009 8-year-old single barrel bourbon bottled by Shinanoya for the 2019 film Godzilla: King of the Monsters — one of four “kaiju” whiskies, chosen for its volcanic, spicy power. The last of the series at Bar Little Happiness, Hiroshima — now sold out.

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SHINANOYA — the Japanese liquor retailer that has won “Icons of Whisky” four times, watched closely by whisky professionals worldwide.

In 2019, to celebrate the release of the Hollywood film “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” which shook the world, they launched an unprecedented collaboration.

It was an extravagant attempt to express each of the film’s four main monsters — Godzilla, King Ghidorah, Mothra and Rodan — with a spirit suited to its character.

🔥 Why was this Heaven Hill chosen for “Rodan”?

What is frightening about this series is that it isn’t only the labels that are lavish.

It is the selector’s eye: Shinanoya’s buyer tried to fully recreate “each monster’s personality” in the taste of whisky.

Rodan, loved for more than 60 years as “the giant monster of the sky,” appears in this film from inside a volcano, wreathed in flames.

The spirit chosen for its bottle was an 8-year-old from the 2009 vintage at Heaven Hill Distillery, a holy ground of bourbon.

Heaven Hill is one of the largest producers in the US, yet releases from independent bottlers are extremely rare.

This spirit, combining a “champion’s presence” with a volcanic “spicy explosiveness,” was chosen as the incarnation of Rodan.

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📝 [Official] Tasting Note

[Nose]

Sweet oak, resin, dried tea leaves, caramel corn, and from deep within, herbal notes of sage and cardamom.

[Palate]

Black tea, dried orange, the sweetness of boiled corn and coarse sugar. From a slightly nutty body, the bitterness of tannins gradually coats the tongue and turns spicy.

[Finish]

Black pepper, ginger, nutmeg — powerful spices from new wood.

[Comment]

An excellent single barrel bourbon in which pleasant vanilla sweetness, cask-derived bitterness, spicy heat and acidity unfold in good balance.

🥃 The Little Happiness feast reaches its grand finale.

All four monsters had gathered at Little Happiness too.

“Godzilla,” incarnated by Laphroaig, king of Islay; “King Ghidorah,” a 24-year-old Irish; “Mothra,” a bright rum…

As the famous monsters disappeared one by one, this “Rodan” has finally become the last bottle.

Years after the film’s release, this limited bottle is vanishing around the world — and it has now sold out at Little Happiness too.

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

Mika Tanimoto, Bar Little Happiness

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