Volume：700ml
ABV：50%

Located in Niigata, Japan’s new whisky distillery—Kameda Distillery—was founded for a refreshingly down-to-earth reason. One day in 2016, the owner, Hiroyuki Doda, was drinking his favorite Taketsuru 17 and suddenly said to his wife, “Japanese whisky is getting so expensive, soon I won’t be able to afford it.” His wife replied, “Then why not build your own distillery and make whisky yourself?” From that moment, the couple began their whisky-making journey. Kameda was established in 2019, survived the pandemic, and finally released its first whisky—Pisces—in 2025.

Mrs. Doda is no ordinary partner. Her original name is Naoko Ohtani, president of Ohtani Insho, a century-old Japanese company with about 600 employees. Kameda’s whisky brand “Ohtani Whisky” is clearly a tribute to her tremendous support. Meanwhile, Hiroyuki Doda was never just an ordinary drinker—he trained at Mars’ Tsunuki Distillery, and when importing Forsyths copper stills during the pandemic, he practically assembled everything by himself because no technicians could travel to Japan. Kameda later won the New Make Gold Award at WWA 2023.

Back to the whisky. Instead of a conventional name, Kameda asked a more interesting question: “If whisky were a person, what would it be like?” The first answer became a Pisces girl. This unique concept divided opinions in Japan, yet it was unforgettable enough to become a local bestseller.

This is a single malt built from first-fill bourbon matured spirit blended with sherry cask whisky, bottled at 50% ABV. Let’s meet this Pisces girl.

On the nose, sweet warmth and soft oak appear first, followed by white-grape fruitiness and candy-like sweetness, with sweet-potato notes. The palate leans soft and sweet, with a youthful bite, yet already showing round texture. Mid-palate again reveals sweet-potato character with herbal hints. The finish is lightly bitter with a gentle sweetness. Natural layering and surprisingly good balance for such young spirit—definitely a release that makes us look forward to what comes next.

A playful zodiac concept, and for a debut release, impressively executed.