Nagahama Roman 8 years old Pure Malt /47%/ – Nagahama Distillery, the smallest Japanese craft distillery, was built in 2016 as an extension to Nagahama Roman Brewery. It is located on the side of Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan, also called “Mother Lake”. Apparently, the location is beneficial for whisky aging because the lake’s water moderates the local climate. The first distillation took place in November 2016 and the first single malt expression was released in May 2020. The company does not have sufficient inventory, it imports whisky from Scotland and maturation and blending process takes place at Nagahama Distillery (the company master blender learnt his craft in Scotland). Little is known about Nagahama Roman components; the 8 years old expression scored Gold at the 2021 San Francisco World Spirit Competition.