Tamano Ascend Distillery, operated by CTI Ascend Co., Ltd. in Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture, releases a new whisky, 拓駈 (Hiraku) 2026 SUMMER EDITION 双夏 (Soka), on Sunday, September 6, 2026.
Product Information
Product Name: 拓駈 (Hiraku) 2026 SUMMER EDITION 双夏 (Soka)
Category: Whisky
Volume / ABV: 700ml / 43%
Suggested Retail Price: ¥8,600 excl. tax (¥9,460 incl. tax)
Release Date: Sunday, September 6, 2026
Producer: CTI Ascend Co., Ltd.
Production Location: Tamano, Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture
双夏 (Soka) blends new-make spirit that has aged through two summers since distillation began in 2024, built around whisky matured in new bourbon casks.
Compared with 拓駈 NEW BORN, released in March 2026, the spirit has matured further: it keeps the boldness typical of a young new-make whisky while the mouthfeel turns softer, and the woody aroma and sweetness drawn from the cask come through more clearly.
The name 双夏 (Soka) reflects the throughline the distillery values — from the summer the grain grew in the field, to the two summers the resulting new-make spirit has since spent maturing in the cask, connecting the journey from field to finished whisky.
It is a whisky meant to capture this moment: two years into the distillery's own history, matched against the time its spirit has spent aging in the cask.
Bartenders who tasted it ahead of release described "the scent of earth and grassland" and "a dram you'd want as the last pour of the day."
It offers a different kind of character from a fully matured, long-aged whisky — one that can only be tasted while the spirit is still maturing. Through 双夏 (Soka), the distillery hopes drinkers can also sense how its new-make spirit continues to change over time.
The whisky will be unveiled at Whisky Collection Koriyama on September 6, 2026, before rolling out to liquor stores and online retailers.
About Tamano Ascend Distillery
Tamano Ascend Distillery sits in the Tamano district, in the mountains of Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture. The distillery operates out of the former Tamano Elementary School, once attended by children from the local area.
CTI Ascend Co., Ltd., which runs the distillery, was launched through the in-house venture program of CTI Engineering Co., Ltd., a general construction consultancy. After roughly three years of preparation, CTI Ascend Co., Ltd. was established in January 2023. It obtained a whisky manufacturing license in 2024 and began distilling in Tamano that July.
The distillery's guiding concept is "whisky grown from the soil."
Rather than confining whisky-making to the distillery itself, the team starts from the soil that grows its raw materials, cultivating corn and rye on farmland around the distillery. Tilling the fields, sowing seed, growing and harvesting the grain with help from the local community, then mashing, distilling, and casking it — the distillery aims to keep as much of that long process as possible within the local area.
Building a Sustainable Local Cycle Through Whisky-Making
In the Tamano district, population decline and a shrinking farming workforce have left more farmland and facilities unused. Tamano Ascend Distillery has put the shuttered Tamano Elementary School to use as its distillery and is also cultivating raw materials on idle farmland nearby.
The distillery is also working to circulate resources locally by channeling by-products of whisky production into local livestock and agriculture, and returning the resulting compost to the fields.
The company name, ASCEND, stands for:
Agriculture
Sustainability
Circular Economy
N(&)
Development
Rather than treating whisky-making as an end in itself, the distillery aims to connect agriculture, craftsmanship, community, and people to build a new local cycle — the kind of whisky-making Tamano Ascend Distillery is working toward.
Distillery and Spirits Recognized at Competition
Tamano Ascend Distillery's approach, and the new-make spirit it produces, have also been recognized at the Tokyo Whisky & Spirits Competition (TWSC).
In 2025, the distillery received the New Distillery of the Year award, given to a newly established distillery generating notable buzz.
The following year, in 2026, 拓駈 NEW MAKE MashR won gold and 拓駈 NEW BORN MashR won silver. The distillery's efforts to connect agriculture and local resources to whisky-making were also recognized with the special Best Japanese SDGs award.
The distillery's new-make spirit will keep maturing in the cask from here. 拓駈 (Hiraku) 2026 SUMMER EDITION 双夏 (Soka) captures Tamano Ascend Distillery at this point in that long journey, in the summer of 2026 — a whisky that began in the field and has since aged through two summers.
