“Single Malt Nagahama THE THIRD BATCH” is now available from the official website of Nagahama Roman Beer, which operates the Nagahama Distillery. Characteristics, price, and purchase site are introduced.
Nagahama THE THIRD BATCH, introduced in a previous article, was released in 2022 as FIRST BATCH and in May 2011 as SECOND BATCH, and the first single malt Nagahama in about 7 months has arrived.
The key malts this time are both peat-type bourbon barrel-aged and Islay Quarter barrel-aged wines.
They are already available for purchase in our online store.
1. Distillery
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, located in the northern part of Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture, has both a craft beer brewery and a restaurant. Few distilleries, including major whisky distilleries, have their own restaurants, and craft whisky distilleries are very rare.
The unique shape of the pot stills installed in the distillery reminds us of the very origin of whisky making.
Nagahama Distillery was originally a rice warehouse from the Edo period, which was renovated and started making beer in 1996. Later, in 2016, facilities for whisky production were installed. The building has a vaulted ceiling, with a saccharification tank and distiller on the first floor, and a crusher 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. Among Japanese craft distilleries, Nagahama Distillery is the only one currently using this alambic type pot still. The advantage of this distillery is that it produces a clear, soft liquor with less cloying taste.
Trial and error was repeated between the establishment of the company and now. Major changes include a change in the malt crush ratio and a change in fermentation time, which was originally 60 hours but has now been increased to 72 hours. In addition, the number of distillers was increased from two to three. When the distillery was founded, the first distillation vessel had a capacity of 1,000 liters and the redistillation vessel had a capacity of 500 liters, but the redistillation vessel was also replaced, and all three distillation vessels are now 1,000 liters. Also, following the example of Scottish distilleries, the redistillation kettles are rarely cleaned. We have made many changes over the past four years since our founding.
We continue to make whisky under the spirit of “one brew, one barrel”.
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- Image source: Nagahama Distillery Official Facebook
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- Image source: Nagahama Distillery Official Facebook
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- Image source: Nagahama Distillery Official Facebook
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- Image source: Nagahama Distillery Official Facebook
Reference: Whisky｜Nagahama Roman Beer
2. Photo of the bottle and sales website
Single Malt NAGAHAMA THE THIRD BATCH
Single Malt NAGAHAMA THE THIRD BATCH
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3. Single Malt Nagahama THE THIRD BATCH
In the spirit of “one brew, one barrel,” we carefully select only the finest malt malt from among the bottles in our aging cellar to produce this product. The four types of malt were carefully vatted using the techniques and experience gained from “AMAHAGAN”.
The key malts in this product are bourbon barrel-aged and Islay Quarter barrel-aged. Both are peaty and have a strong smoky flavor. The addition of the Mizunara and Koval whisky barrel-aged malts gives the beer an exquisite balance of oriental, heavy, and bitter flavors.
[Tasting Comment]
◆Color
The color is a shimmering amber.
◆Aroma
Delicate and fresh top notes. Malty essence with a pronounced smoky flavor. Sweet aroma like milk chocolate and chocolate cookie. Next, raisins, apricot candies, persimmon and other fruits, and finally a smoky aftertaste reminiscent of the end of a bonfire.
◆Taste
Malt sweetness and a milky smooth mouthfeel. Softness of caramel and maple syrup. Smoky accents that appear towards the aftertaste show a strong character, and the peat smoke lingers for a long time.Reference: Nagahama Roman Beer official website
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3-1. Tasting Notes
Aroma Bright smoke, gateau chocolate, dried persimmon, burnt caramel, cinnamon Taste Sweetness and bitterness like slightly burnt baked goods, incense-like smoke. Aftertaste After the sweetness and sourness are gone, smokiness lingers for a long time. 3-2. Product Specifications
| Product name | Single Malt Nagahama THE THIRD BATCH |
| Sake type | Single malt whisky |
| Casks | Bourbon casks, isla quarter casks, mizunara oak casks, KOVAL whisky casks |
| Number of bottles | 10,000 bottles |
| Suggested Retail Price | 11,000 yen (tax included) |
4. Awards
No awards received at this time.
5. List Price and Online Price
5-1. Suggested Retail Price (List Price)
| Product name | Single Malt Nagahama THE THIRD BATCH |
| Capacity | 500ml |
| Suggested Retail Price | 11,000 yen (including tax) |
5-2. Resale price on Mercari
Resale price on Mercari is around 13,000 yen. (*As of December 20, 2023)
5-3. Sold price on Yahoo! Auctions
Currently, there are no confirmed successful bids on Yahoo! Auctions. (*As of December 20, 2023)
5-4. Rakuten, Yahoo Shopping, Amazon
5-5. Prices offered at BAR Shinkai
At “BAR Shinkai” operated by this site, we offer it in small quantities such as 1 glass, 45ml: 4,950 yen 30ml: 3,300 yen, 15ml: 1,650 yen, etc..
6. Summary
This is a different Nagahama from the first and second. Unlike the bright smokiness and fruity sweetness of the previous series, the bottle had a baked sweetness.
There are not many Nagahama bottles that are this smoky, so we highly recommend Nagahama fans to try this bottle.
■Click here for other single malts from Nagahama Distillery.
