Nagahama Distillery and popular comedy duo Kamaitachi’s Hamaie will collaborate on a new product, which will go on sale from January 21, 2025.
Mr. Hamaie of Kamaitachi is well-known as a drinker on TV programs. He is usually a wine drinker, and wine barrels are used in this whisky.
It is likely that products collaborating with different comedians will be released in the future in terms of titles.
1. Japanese Comedian whisky: Hamaie World Malt
This whisky is a world blended malt whisky jointly blended by Yusuke Yaku, chief blender at Nagahama Distillery, and Ryuichi Hamaie of the popular comedy duo Kamaitachi. The key malt used is the original spirit aged in red wine casks to add the flavor of wine, which Mr. Hamaie enjoys drinking on a regular basis. The fruity and spicy flavors from the wine barrels are in perfect harmony with the malt flavor. The smoky accent that can be felt in the aftertaste is a point that Mr. Hamaie was very particular about. After many prototype tastings, he arrived at an exquisite blend with just the right amount of smokiness without interfering with the wine’s flavor.
The result is a whisky that we are proud to offer not only to fans of Mr. Hamaie, but also to whisky lovers. We hope you will enjoy this special fusion of entertainment and craft whisky, «Japanese Comedian whisky Hamaie World Malt».
2. Product Specifications
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| Product name | Japanese Comedian whisky Hamaie World Malt |
| Sake type | Blended Malt whisky |
| cask-aged whisky | Key Malt: Aged in red wine barrels |
| Number of bottles | 3,000 bottles |
| Suggested Retail Price | 8,800 yen (including tax) |
About Nagahama 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, is located in the northern part of Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture and has both a craft beer brewery and a restaurant. Few distilleries, including major whisky distilleries, have restaurants attached to them, and when it comes to craft whisky distilleries, they 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 (1603-1868), and began 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 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. Among Japanese craft distilleries, Nagahama Distillery is the only one currently using this alambic type pot still. One of the characteristics of this distillery is that it has the merit of producing a clear, soft, and less cloying liquor.
Trial and error has been repeated between the establishment of the distillery and the present. Major changes include a change in the malt crush ratio and a change in fermentation time from 60 hours at the beginning to 72 hours now. Also, 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 in the spirit of «one brew, one barrel.
Reference: whisky｜Nagahama Romantic Beer
