Nozawa Onsen Distillery (野沢温泉蒸留所) has confirmed the specifications of its first single malt whisky. The whisky will be called Barrel Hall Series and goes on sale November 6, 2026, at 47% ABV in a 700ml bottle, with a suggested retail price of ¥13,200 including tax. The distillery announced the details on September 26. It is based in the Nagano Prefecture ski village of Nozawa Onsen (野沢温泉), and earlier this month it said only that its debut whisky was finished. Strength, age and price were not known until now.
Australian malt, two mashing methods
The whisky has been maturing for three years. It is made from malted barley grown in Australia, home country of the distillery’s representative, Philip Richards. The finished whisky blends spirit from two different production methods. For one, the malt is ground more finely than usual for single malt, using a US-made hammer mill. For the other, the distillery used a “whole mash” approach, fermenting without first filtering the grain out. The distillery says combining the two gives the whisky its depth. Its own tasting notes list honey and crème brûlée on the nose, followed by toffee, fruitcake and chocolate on the palate.
The launch is tied to the Dosojin (道祖神) Fire Festival, which is held in the village every January. It is designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan, and it is often counted among the country’s three great fire festivals. Each age group in the village has a set role in the festival, and the distillery built its tagline, “Whisky Connects Generations,” around that idea of handing things down. The bottle’s surface is modeled on the beech tree used as the festival’s sacred tree. The distillery says a real beech was 3D-scanned so the glass carries the texture of its bark.
Bottles will be sold at the distillery, through its official online store and at other stockists. The release does not say how many bottles will be produced. The distillery opened on December 15, 2022, in a renovated former cannery a few minutes’ walk from the Oyu (大湯) public bathhouse. Before its first whisky, it was known for gin, which has won more than 20 international awards.
What it means for overseas drinkers
The release is a domestic one, and no export date has been announced. The simplest way for international visitors to buy a bottle is to go to Nozawa Onsen. Every winter the village fills with skiers from Australia, the UK, Singapore and the US, so the distillery has an unusually large English-speaking audience at its door for a first release. The Australian barley is also worth noting. The Japan Spirits & Liqueurs Makers Association (JSLMA) standard for “Japanese whisky” regulates where a whisky is mashed, distilled, matured and bottled, not where the grain was grown. Imported malt is therefore permitted, and the origin of the barley is something buyers can only learn from producers who choose to disclose it. With an Australian-led team, Nozawa Onsen joins other foreign-backed projects such as the US-owned Cedarfield distillery in Hokkaido in Japan’s growing craft whisky scene.
Source: PR TIMES (Nozawa Onsen Distillery) (Japanese)