Komada – A Whisky Family (駒田蒸留所へようこそ)

"Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2023 Contrechamp competition"

Here.

Mom, I didn't know you could drink.

Only KOMA.

Rui.

I heard your drawing won a prize.

It's wonderful you have a special talent.

Unlike her.

What do you mean?

Excellent.

The Future of Craft Whisky?

Sounds interesting, doesn't it?

I'm in charge of this?

Yes.

I'm just a newbie.

You'll be better...

It's been 6 months. You're not a newbie anymore.

But...

Have one.

"Misoman Sweet Buns"

A whisky expert will handle

the technical part of the interviews.

Your job is to attend the interviews

and write an article on them.

Who's this expert?

Rui Komada

a whisky blender.

She created a popular craft whisky soon

after she took over the family business.

You don't look excited.

It usually takes decades to become a good blender.

She's a rising star in the whisky industry.

You know a lot about it.

I wrote an article on WAKABA,

the whisky she made.

I played a part in the product's success.

No wonder you know so much.

It's common knowledge for

a reporter of a news website.

Really?

Yasu! We need you!

I'll be right there.

Tomorrow's interview is in Nagano.

I'm counting on you.

Tomorrow? It's my day off.

It'll be at Omori Liquor Company.

Don't rely completely on the expert.

Do your own research too.

I need more time...

I'll email the details to you.

Give me a break.

"Oumori Liquor Company, renewal/tie-up"

I've heard of this.

A business owner at her age…

Isn't that impressive?

"Omori's Shinshu distillery"

This is our second distillery.

This area has a rich source of high-quality water.

Its natural environment

is also suitable for maturing whisky.

Craft whiskies reflect the

Visitors are always welcome to watch the manufacturing process.

That's our selling point.

Both the interior and the exterior have a Scandinavian design

that we hope would please the tourists.

Thank you.

I have no more questions.

Mr. Takahashi, do you have any questions?

Me?

Um...

All right. Uh...

I understand you renewed the package.

No, we didn't.

Really?

You started a business tie-up with a pro baseball team...

That's Oumori Liquor Company.

Yes. So...

We're Omori, not Oumori.

Look at my business card.

"Omori Liquor Company"

Oops. Um...

I'm sorry.

It's my first time at a whisky brewery.

- Distillery. - What?

Breweries make wine and beer.

Whisky is made at distilleries.

They're different?

Unbelievable.

What an embarrassing mistake.

I'm sorry.

Oumori and Omori. The names are confusing.

- What was that? - Nothing.

You're in charge of this project

but you're clueless about whisky.

Take it easy, Kawabata.

They say it's the whisky boom now

but not everyone's an expert.

It's his job.

It's unforgivable that a reporter offends

our cooperators with his ignorance.

But we shouldn't expect him to know everything right away.

I'll cover for him.

No. He has to learn

as common courtesy to the distilleries.

Each day is critical for us when our fate is at stake.

No room for failure.

What's wrong with News Value?

I thought they'd send Mr. Yasumoto.

I'm sorry.

Tomoko doesn't mince her words.

Boss!

Don't use my first name during business.

Oh yeah. Sorry.

We're doing 2 interviews a month.

He needs to at least learn the basics.

Mr. Takahashi, watch and learn at our distillery today.

I will...

This is the News Value site, right?

Yes.

I hope the series gets many readers.

I'll do my best.

We're almost there.

This building?

Yes.

"Komada Distillery"

Welcome to Komada Distillery.

"Komada Distillery"

The distilling process.

Wow.

Pot stills are shaped differently in every distillery.

The shape affects the whisky's aroma and flavor.

They're both so shiny.

Aren't they? They were just delivered.

We can finally make raw whisky.

Finally?

We stopped making raw whisky 10 years ago.

We lost a part of our stock in the earthquake.

Earthquake?

Oh, that one...

That's why we had to stop making KOMA...

KOMA?

The whisky we used to produce.

So we made a business decision to stop making whisky.

Shochu was our main product since then.

But when she took over,

we decided to make raw whisky again.

Our wish recently came true.

Things happened, huh?

Why don't you even know that

we temporarily stopped making whisky?

I'm sorry.

It's not his fault.

We're just starting again.

Do you know the name of our shochu?

No.

It's called ITO.

You really didn't do any research.

After the second distillation,

the colorless new-make

is matured in casks like these.

The flavor changes depending on the type of casks

and the environment.

So spacious.

Right now, we only have the old whisky casks

but from this year, there'll be a lot more.

But it takes more time

before we start making money.

Is that right?

At least 3 years of maturation.

That long?

Have you ever seen

"12 years" or "18 years" on whisky bottle labels?

Sometimes it's matured for 50 years.

50 years?

What we're making now

is for the future.

But I heard a whisky

called WAKABA is a big hit.

You know WAKABA?

Yes.

But you said you quit making whisky.

I don't get it.

We stopped making raw whisky.

WAKABA is a blend

of the raw whiskies that we still have.

I see.

Hm? You can make WAKABA

but you can't make KOMA?

We lost all the raw whiskies for KOMA.

Is that how it works?

We don't even have a single bottle of KOMA here.

Not even one?

My father sold all the bottles

to people who appreciate it.

It's sold on online auctions

for millions of yen.

Millions of yen...

Mr. Shoji.

This is Mr. Takahashi,

a reporter from a news website.