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Nagahama

Distillery
Nagahama-shi, Shiga-ken 526-0056, Japan

Whiskies (175)

175 Nagahama whiskies are currently listed on Whiskybase.

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About Nagahama Distillery

Nagahama Distillery is a small Japanese whisky distillery located in Shiga Prefecture, near Lake Biwa. It operates on a compact scale and focuses on producing single malt whisky using traditional pot still distillation. Alongside its own distillate, the distillery has also been involved in blending and bottling projects that combine domestic and imported whiskies. Nagahama is commonly associated with Japan’s newer generation of craft whisky producers.

Japan (Shiga Prefecture – Nagahama, Lake Biwa)

Country Japan
Production Type Ultra-small batch “one distillation, one cask” Japanese single malt and blended malt whiskies
Brands Produced Here Nagahama Single Malt (First/Second/Third Batch), Amahagan World Malt Editions with varied cask finishes.

Distillery Details

Water Source Pure water from Lake Biwa
Grain Type Uses German non-peated malts and lightly peated Scotch malt; experimenting with local barley
Distillation Type Triple pot-stills
Whisky Produced Single malt whiskies under Nagahama label and blended malts as
Mash Tun Type The brewery mash tun supports wort for beer and wash for whisky fermentation
Number of Washbacks One washback used for whisky
Washback Material Stainless steel
Fermentation Time Originally ~60 h, later extended to ~72 h
Wash Stills Two alembic-style copper pot stills
Wash Still Material Copper
Wash Still Shape Alembic gourd-like, “Arabic-style” stills
Wash Still Capacity ~1,000 L each
Spirit Stills One alembic-style copper pot still
Spirit Stills Material Copper
Spirit Stills Shape Alembic-style
Spirit Still Type Pot still
Spirit Still Capacity ~1,000 L
Spirit Still Heating Indirect/steam heating
Maturation on Site? Yes—barrel maturation in varied environments including former school and decommissioned tunnel
Warehouse Type Unconventional: former elementary school and tunnel aging warehouses
Warehouses On-site local spaces repurposed for aging.

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