When Yoshiharu Takeuchi founded Nine Leaves in Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture, in 2013, his approach to rum was anything but conventional. With a background outside the traditional spirits industry and a fascination for Japanese whisky, Takeuchi sought advice and practical experience from Ichiro Akuto, founder of Chichibu Distillery.
This connection would become an important part of the Nine Leaves story. Takeuchi spent time learning at Chichibu and subsequently transferred some of the philosophy and precision associated with Japanese single malt production to rum. Even his copper pot stills, built by Forsyths in Scotland, reflected this whisky-inspired approach.
Nine Leaves remained an exceptionally personal operation. Takeuchi was involved in virtually every stage himself – from fermentation and distillation to filling and managing the casks. The distillery developed a distinctive style and became one of the most recognised names in the small world of Japanese craft rum.
The end of Nine Leaves – and the beginning of something new
After only ten years, production at Nine Leaves came to an end in late 2023. Takeuchi decided to close the distillery and ultimately sold the remaining stocks of aged Nine Leaves rum, together with the final white rum, to La Maison & Velier.
This means that Nine Leaves is now a genuinely finite spirit. No new rum is being produced and the remaining mature stocks can never be replaced.
But the story did not end with the closure of the distillery.
Luca Gargano and La Maison & Velier began thinking about how the remaining casks could be presented as a coherent collection. And here the story takes a particularly interesting turn.
From Hanyu to Nine Leaves
The inspiration came from one of the most famous collector series in the history of Japanese spirits: Ichiro Akuto’s Hanyu Card Series.
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After Hanyu Distillery ceased production, Akuto secured its remaining whisky stocks and gradually released selected casks with labels representing playing cards. The resulting Card Series became legendary among whisky collectors. A complete 54-bottle set eventually sold at auction in Hong Kong in 2020 for approximately US$1.5 million.
For Nine Leaves, Luca Gargano chose a concept with distinctly Japanese roots: Unsun Karuta.
Unsun Karuta is a traditional Japanese card game whose history reaches back to the influence of Portuguese playing cards during the 16th and 17th centuries. Its deck consists of 75 different cards – and their striking historical illustrations now provide the designs for the Nine Leaves releases.
The parallel is fascinating.
It is more than a visual reference. Takeuchi learned from Akuto at Chichibu, while Gargano has explicitly cited the Hanyu Card Series as an inspiration for the concept behind the Nine Leaves collection.
A future collector’s series?
Of course, nobody can predict whether Nine Leaves will ever follow the extraordinary price development of Hanyu. Japanese whisky and rum are very different markets, and Hanyu occupies a unique position in spirits history.
Nevertheless, Nine Leaves combines several characteristics that make the series particularly interesting from a collector’s perspective: a closed Japanese distillery, a finite stock of remaining rum, a direct connection to Ichiro Akuto and Chichibu, and a clearly defined series curated by Luca Gargano and La Maison & Velier.
And unlike a continuing brand, the story has a definite ending: once the remaining Nine Leaves stocks have been bottled, there will simply be no more.
Perhaps we are currently witnessing the beginning of one of the most fascinating Japanese rum collections of the coming years.
Want to explore Nine Leaves further?
→ Read the full story at Velier
→ Discover Nine Leaves in our current auction