Second blended malt layers Okinawa and Shiga whiskies
Okinawa's Susaki Distillery and Shiga's Nagahama Distillery released the second batch of their blended malt, combining seven malt whiskies, on 7 October.
In Japanese whisky-making, it is becoming slightly more common for different distilleries to pool their spirit. Susaki Distillery in Okinawa Prefecture, at Japan’s southern tip, and Nagahama Distillery in Shiga Prefecture, in the middle of Honshu, released “Ryuka x Nagahama INAZUMA Blended Malt Japanese Whisky SECOND BATCH”, a blended malt they make together, on 7 October 2026. This second batch layers seven malt whiskies in total, matured in two places with very different climates. It is sold by the liquor retail chain Liquor Mountain, exclusively at its Kokusai-dori branch in Naha.
Subtropics and lakeside: two maturation environments
Susaki Distillery is run by Shinzato Shuzo, founded in 1846. Shinzato Shuzo is the oldest surviving awamori brewery in Okinawa. Awamori is a traditional Okinawan distilled spirit made from rice. The company developed a yeast that foams less during fermentation, which raised the efficiency of awamori production, and it also applies its awamori-making know-how to whisky.
Nagahama Distillery stands in Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture, near Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan. It began operating in 2016 inside a craft brewery and is one of the smallest distilleries in the country. It uses a small alembic-type pot still and a very thin lyne arm (the pipe that carries vapour from the head of the still to the condenser) to make full-bodied spirit.
The flavours of seven casks
From Susaki Distillery come four whiskies matured in casks that previously held awamori, PX (Pedro Ximenez) sherry casks and others. From Nagahama Distillery, three more were added, matured in red wine casks, small casks that previously held Islay whisky and others. According to the official tasting notes, the nose offers ripe dark cherries and raisins with the exotic character of the awamori casks, and a gentle peat smoke rising from beneath. On the palate, the brown-sugar and chocolate-like sweetness of the PX and oloroso sherry casks spreads out together with the fruitiness of the red wine casks, followed by a long, spicy finish. The bottle holds 500 ml, is bottled at 50% ABV and has a recommended retail price of ¥16,500 including tax.
This bottle is sold at a single shop in Naha, and no distribution in Europe has been announced. Even so, the distinctly Okinawan approach of maturing whisky in casks that held awamori deserves attention as a new current in Japanese whisky. If you come across Susaki Distillery’s “Ryuka” or Nagahama Distillery’s products at a specialist shop in Europe, do try them. Because of the high strength, we suggest first nosing it neat, then adding a few drops of water to enjoy how the fruit and smoke open up.
Sources
- PR TIMES (Liquor Mountain): https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000248.000030735.html
Sources
This article was written by The Sake Wire editorial team, summarising the public sources listed above. Images are our own.
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