About
First whisky distillery in Nara Prefecture, located in Soni Village — renowned as a starting point of the Yamato Kingdom (cradle of Japan). Distillery building is over 100 years old, thoughtfully restored. World's first Yoshino Sugi (Japanese cedar) cask finish single malt whisky. Name means 'God's Breath' (Kami=God, Iki=Breath), inspired by mountain breezes. Single malt aged minimum 3 years in oak, finished in Japanese cedar casks.
Production Details
The Kamiki (Soni) Tale
In the ancient hills of Nara Prefecture, where the Yamato Kingdom first drew breath and shaped the soul of Japan, the restored timber beams of a century-old building shelter the youngest whisky distillery in the land. Soni Village spreads below like a living scroll, its terraced fields and mountain paths unchanged since emperors walked these highlands.
Here, in 2020, Kamiki Shuzou Co. chose not just a location but a legacy. The crystal-clear waters that flow from the Soni highlands have nourished this cradle of Japanese civilization for millennia. Now they carry a different purpose, flowing into copper stills where Scottish tradition meets something uniquely Japanese.
The distillery's name whispers its intention: Kamiki—God's Breath—inspired by the mountain breezes that sweep down from the peaks and through the valley. Inside the thoughtfully restored building, those same winds seem to move through the production halls, where the ancient art of monozukuri guides every decision.
But it is in the maturation halls where Kamiki reveals its true innovation. After three years in oak casks, the single malt begins a second journey into vessels carved from Yoshino Sugi—the revered Japanese cedar that has built temples and palaces for over a thousand years. This finishing process, the first of its kind in the world, transforms Scottish technique through a distinctly Japanese lens.
The cedar casks stand like silent sentinels, their wood grain telling stories of mountain forests and patient craftsmanship. Each breath the whisky takes in these vessels carries the essence of Japan itself—the precision of the woodworker, the patience of the distiller, the harmony between tradition and innovation that defines the Japanese spirit.
In choosing Nara, in restoring rather than rebuilding, in finishing with cedar rather than simply following convention, Kamiki honors both the birthplace of Japan and the future of its whisky. The mountain breezes continue to blow, carrying God's breath across a landscape where every element—water, wood, and time—converges in pursuit of something both ancient and entirely new.