Nagahama Distillery releases single malt from “Kami no Shizuku” collaboration product. Chateau Mont-Pérat’s top cuvée, a single malt aged in “Girorat” casks, was released in limited quantities.
In April 2024, Single Malt Nagahama THE Mont-Pérat BATCH was released. This time, the product is made from its higher cuvee, “Girorat” casks.
This bottle is another collaboration with the popular wine manga “Kami no Shizuku,” which has entered its third part.
There is also a comment from “Shizuku Kanzaki” in the tasting notes.
It appears to be released by Miyako K.K.
1. kami no Shizuku Single Malt Nagahama The Girorat Batch & Girorat Rouge 2019 Special Box
We have produced a limited edition of God’s Shizuku Single Malt Nagahama The Girorat Batch, a single malt whiskey matured in red wine barrels from Girorat, the top cuvée of Chateau Montpellat in Bordeaux, France. (Taito-ku, Tokyo), the distillery’s distributor, will release the “Kami no Shizuku Single Malt Nagahama The Girorat Batch & Girorat Rouge 2019 Special Box,” which includes this whiskey and Girorat Rouge 2019, the red wine that was in the barrel used for maturation. The limited edition will be released on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
This single malt whiskey was distilled in 2018 and aged for five years in bourbon barrels, then refilled into Girorat red wine barrels in August 2023 and post-aged for approximately one year. Bottled at a higher alcohol content of 57% to maximize the flavor derived from the wine barrels.
The result is a single malt whiskey with a rich berry aroma and gorgeous taste that is characteristic of Giraudot.Chateau Montpellat is famous for being introduced in the first volume of “Kami no Shizuku,” which has now become a world-renowned wine manga, and it instantly became a Cinderella wine. The label of the whiskey was specially drawn by Shu Okimoto, the artist of “Kami no Shizuku. The label depicts Shizuku Kanzaki, the main character of “Kami no Shizuku”, pouring whiskey into a wine glass to express the marriage of whiskey and wine.
This luxurious set allows you to experience the aroma that wine barrels bring to whiskey along with actual red wine. Please enjoy to your heart’s content.
Reference: Nagahama Romantic Beer official website
2. Product Specifications
| Product Name | Kami no Shizuku Single Malt Nagahama The Girilat Batch |
| Sake Category | Single Malt Whiskey |
| Cask Sake | Red wine casks of “Girorat |
| Number of bottles | Limited to 700 sets |
| Alcohol content | 57% alcohol by volume |
| Suggested retail price | 33,000 yen (tax included) *Set price of 500ml whiskey + 750ml wine |
＜Tasting comment by Mr. Shizuku Kanzaki
A wood bass solo began. It was a quiet night in a big city, a historical jazz club.
The audience, men and women of all ages, were listening to the jazzmen in bow ties and suits,
There were no barriers between men and women, between ages, nationalities, and races. Some close their eyes, others hum the rhythms. Shoulder to shoulder,
and let themselves be carried away by the melody. Everyone is here now, living their own life.
Nietzsche’s words came to mind. “How can the light of day know the depth of the darkness of night?
This whiskey is “the philosophy of the night played by the wood base.＜Tasting comment by Yahisa, Chief Blender at Nagahama Distillery
Color: Bright amber
Aroma: Malty, rich aroma of dark berries and strawberry jam derived from Nagahama malt. Balanced with a soothing smokiness like smoldering straw.
Taste: Floral taste reminiscent of violets after an attack of white flowers and vanilla. The wine has a good acidity and dry accents, reminiscent of raspberry tart. A lingering peat nuance gently wraps the entire palate.Reference: Nagahama Romantic Beer official website
About Nagahama Distillery and Ch. Mont-Pérat
3₋1. Nagahama Distillery
| Location | 14-1 Asahi-cho, Nagahama-shi, Shiga 526-0056 |
| Start of operation | November 1, 2016 (Heisei 28) |
Nagahama Distillery, one of the smallest distilleries in Japan, is located in the northern part of Lake Biwa, Shiga Prefecture, and houses a craft beer brewery and a restaurant. Few distilleries, including major whiskey distilleries, have restaurants attached to them, and when it comes to craft whiskey distilleries, they are very rare.
The unique shape of the pot stills installed in the distillery reminds us of the very origin of whiskey making.
Nagahama Distillery was originally a rice warehouse from the Edo period (1603-1868), and began making beer in 1996. Later, in 2016, facilities for whiskey production were installed. The building has a vaulted ceiling, with a saccharification tank and distiller on the first floor, and a grinder and fermentation tank on the second floor.
There are two pot stills for first distillation and one for redistillation, and the heating system is an alambic type pot still shaped like an indirect steam gourd, a pot still often used for distilling brandy. This alambic type pot still is a rare type of distiller in Japan. The feature of this distiller is that it has the advantage of producing clear, soft liquor with little miscellaneous taste.
Trial and error was repeated between the establishment of the company and the present. Major changes include a change in the malt mash ratio and a change in fermentation time, which was initially 60 hours but is now 72 hours. After that, distillation was done while adjusting the fermentation time in order to create different types of original sake. The number of distillation vessels was increased from two to three. When the distillery was founded, the first distillation kettle was 1,000 liters and the second distillation kettle was 500 liters, but the second distillation kettle was also replaced, and all three distillation kettles were unified to 1,000 liters. The rest of the redistillation kettles are almost never cleaned, following the example of Scottish distilleries. We have made many changes since our establishment until now.
Nevertheless, the spirit of the concept “one brew, one barrel” has remained unchanged and they continue to make whiskey.
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Reference: Whiskey｜Nagahama Romantic Beer
3₋2. About Girorat Rouge
The Despagne family has been making wine for 250 years. This historic family has owned Montpellat since 1998.
The consultant who expressed this terroir was Michel Rolland. He is a genius winemaker who has worked on Cinderella wines from the Right Bank such as “Le Pain” and “Chateau Clinet,” as well as “Harlan Estate,” known as a cult wine in California, and is called “Mr. Merlot.
Girorat is the top cuvée of the Despagne family. The best parcels of grapes are harvested by hand and fermented with wild yeast for a long period of time. AB certified organic wine.
Lastly: Recommended Books on Japanese Whisky
If you want to learn more about Japanese whisky, which is a global trend, we highly recommend these books.
(1).Whisky Galore Vol.29 December 2021 issue
In the December 2021 issue of Whisky Galore, published by the Whisky Culture Research Institute, we report on 11 Japanese craft distilleries, including some that are open to the public for the first time, under the title of “Japanese Whisky Craft Frontline,” the first of three consecutive issues. Why did the popularity of Japanese whisky and the craft boom occur? We will examine with interviews. Chichibu Distillery / Chichibu No.2 Distillery / Mars Shinshu Distillery / Mars Tsunuki Distillery / Kanosuke Distillery / Hioki Distillery / Ontake Distillery / Osuzuyama Distillery / Kaikyo Distillery / Hanyu Distillery / Konosu Distillery
(2). Japanese Whisky as an Education for Business
This is a book written by Mamoru Tsuchiya, a world-famous whisky critic and representative of the Whisky Culture Research Institute, titled “Japanese Whisky as a Culture that Works for Business” .
The book covers the basics of whisky, the introduction of whisky to Japan, the birth of Japanese whisky, advertising strategies and the rise of Japanese whisky, and the current rise of craft distilleries. This is a book that summarizes Japanese whisky in a very easy to understand way.
(3). Whisky and I (Masataka Taketsuru)
Masataka Taketsuru, the founder of Nikka Whisky, devoted his life to brewing whisky in Japan. This is a revised and reprinted version of the autobiography of a man who simply loved whisky and talked about himself. The book vividly depicts the days when he went to Scotland alone to study as a young man and overcame many hardships to complete Japanese whisky, as well as his companion, Rita.
(4). A Letter of Challenge from a New Generation Distillery
Launching in 2019. With the world experiencing an unprecedented whisky boom, what were the managers of craft distilleries thinking and what were their thoughts as they took on the challenge of making whisky? This book tells the stories of 13 craft distillery owners, including Ichiro Hido of Venture Whisky, famous for his Ichirose Malt, who inspired the birth of craft distilleries in Japan.
(5). Whiskey Rising
This is the Japanese version of Whisky Risng, published in the US in 2016, with much updated content. Not only does it describe the history of Japanese whisky in detail, but it also includes data on all the distilleries in Japan, including the craft distilleries that have been founded in recent years. The book also includes descriptions of the legendary bottles that have been released, as well as information on bars where Japanese whisky can be found.
