Nagahama Distillery, Japan’s smallest whisky distillery run by Nagahama Roman Beer Co. in Shiga Prefecture, will release two new products, INAZUMA Blended Malt, on Tuesday, March 30, 2021.
This product is the first collaboration between two Japanese craft distilleries, “Nagahama Distillery and Saburomaru Distillery”.
1.Japan’s first commercialization of raw spirits exchange
In Scotland, the home of whisky, there has long been a custom of exchanging raw spirits with distilleries other than their own, and developing products by blending raw spirits of various flavors and tastes, but in the Japanese whisky industry, there has been no exchange of raw spirits between distilleries until now.
This challenge is the first time in the history of Japanese whisky.
Since 2016, the number of craft whisky distilleries in Japan has increased rapidly. Each distillery is making whisky with its own particularities and characteristics. The new products created from the exchange of raw spirits between distilleries may bring new discoveries, realizations, and even unexpected miracles. Without a doubt, I think this is something that is necessary for the development of the whisky industry in Japan.
2.Background of the raw spirits exchange and origin of the product name
In recent years, the whisky has been growing by leaps and bounds, but it is said that 90% of the whisky distributed in Japan today is “blended whisky. In the past, many unique blended whiskies were created through the active raw spirits exchange in Scotland.
For this project, two craft distilleries visited each other’s distilleries and exchanged their selected raw spirits, which were then blended by each distillery.
The name of the product is derived from the appearance of the Kanji “滋” for “滋賀(Shiga) prefecture,” and the label depicts the nature of Lake Biwa and the Tonami City symbol, the “bulbul,” which flies over the lake. Also, if you look at the Lake Biwa in the center of the bottle, you can see the scenery associated with each bottle behind it.
INAZUMA” has been closely related to agriculture since ancient times, and is said to bring good harvest. We are very happy to be able to offer a new attraction to whisky lovers all over the country through this commemorative bottle, utilizing the blending technology cultivated in the AMAHAGAN series. (Quote: Nagahama Distillery & Saburomaru Distillery Limited release of two types of whisky “INAZUMA Blended Malt”, the first collaboration between Japanese craft distilleries)
On the left in the photo is Mr. Takahiko Inagaki, Manager & Blender, Saburomaru Distillery, and on the right is Yusuke Yaku, Blender, Nagahama Distillery.
3.Details of the products to be released
This time, two products from Nagahama Distillery and two products from Saburoumaru Distillery will be released. Here, I would like to introduce two products from Nagahama Distillery.
One is Nagahama Distillery INAZUMA Blended Malt Japanese Whisky “Synergy Blend,” which uses only Japanese raw spirits, and the other is Nagahama Distillery INAZUMA World Blended Malt Whisky “Extra Selected,” which is a blend of imported foreign raw spirits.
(1) Nagahama Distillery INAZUMA Blended Malt Japanese Whisky “SYNERGY BLEND”
The blend recipe is composed of non-peated malt raw spirits distilled at the Nagahama Distillery and peated malt raw spirits distilled at the Saburoumaru Distillery, in order to make the individual characteristics of each raw spirits stand out more. We hope you will enjoy the taste brought about by the “synergy” between the raw spirits to your heart’s content.
| Product name | Nagahama Distillery INAZUMA Blended Malt Japanese whisky “SYNERGY BLEND” |
|---|---|
| Classification | Blended malt Japanese whisky |
| Ingredients | Malt |
| Barrel type | Peated malt from Saburoumaru Distillery Non-peated malt from Nagahama Distillery |
| Number of bottles | 700 bottles |
| Alcohol content | 47% |
| Price Suggested retail price | 15,000 yen (excluding tax) |
| Manufactured by | Nagahama Distillery |
| Sales area | Liquor stores nationwide and the Nagahama Roman Beer website |
(2) Nagahama Distillery INAZUMA World Blended Malt Whisky “EXTRA SELECTED”
It is made from non-peated malt distilled at the Nagahama Distillery, peated malt distilled at the Saburoumaru Distillery, and carefully selected malt from overseas. We hope you will enjoy the very fragrant flavor to your heart’s content!
| Product name | Nagahama Distillery INAZUMA World Blended Malt Whisky “EXTRA SELECTED” |
|---|---|
| Classification | Blended Malt Whisky |
| Ingredients | Malt |
| Barrel type |
Peated malt from Saburoumaru Distillery Non-peated malt from Nagahama Distillery Malt from overseas |
| Number of bottles | 6,000 bottles |
| Alcohol content | 47% |
| Price Suggested retail price | 6,900 yen (excluding tax) |
| Manufactured by | Nagahama Distillery |
| Sales area |
Liquor stores nationwide and the Nagahama Roman Beer website |
4. About the lottery sales
Two types of “INAZUMA Blended Malt” will be sold by lottery at the Nagahama Roman Beer Online Shop. A portion of the whisky will be sold by lottery prior to its release on March 30 (Tuesday).
| Application Period | March 8, 2021(month) 12:30 ~ March 14(day) 23:59 |
| Announcement of Winners | March 17, 2021 (Water) 12:00 |
https://romanbeer.buyshop.jp/
5. Other products of Nagahama Distillery
Nagahama Distillery Blended Malt No.3 “AMAHAGAN World Malt Edition No.3
＜Bitter malt with oriental aroma>
AMAHAGAN World Malt Edition No.3″ is the third installment of the AMAHAGAN World Malt Series, which focuses on blending, one of the most important steps in whisky making, in preparation for the future release of a single malt.
This third release is based on Edition No. 1, which is an exquisite blend of malt whisky from overseas and malt from the Nagahama Distillery, and is marriaged by utilizing the oriental character of Mizunara oak, which is native to Japan and commonly known as “Japanese oak.
Nagahama Distillery Blended Malt “AMAHAGAN World Malt Edition YAMAZAKURA”
It has been three years since the distillation started in 2016.In preparation for the future release of a single malt, the World Malt series “AMAHAGAN” was created with a focus on blending, one of the most important processes in whisky making.
This time, “Edition YAMAZAKURA” is based on “Edition No.1”, which is an exquisite blend of Nagahama Distillery’s malt with malt whisky from overseas, and is marriaged with “Yamazakura” native to Japan. It has a pleasant aroma reminiscent of Japanese fragrant wood, and a gentle aftertaste.
See this article for new products to be released from the Saburomaru Distillery.
