Hakushu was built by Suntory in 1973, fifty years after the company's first distillery at Yamazaki, as its second malt whisky site. It sits in forest on the slopes of Mount Kaikomagatake in the Southern Alps, chosen for the softness and mineral balance of the local underground water, and is one of the highest-altitude malt whisky distilleries in the world. The surrounding site is run partly as a bird sanctuary and forest reserve, reflecting Suntory's long-standing environmental branding around the distillery.
Hakushu produces a deliberately different style of spirit from Yamazaki, generally lighter and greener in character, with a heavily peated variant also produced there since 2013. Its core range includes an age-less Distiller's Reserve alongside 12, 18 and 25 year old bottlings.