A special tasting seminar with Yusuke Yaku, chief blender of Nagahama Distillery in Shiga Prefecture, will be held at BAR 新宿 ウイスキーサロン (BAR Shinjuku Whisky Salon) in Shinjuku, Tokyo, on Monday, October 12, 2026 (Sports Day holiday), starting at 4:00 PM. The event is organized by Royal Mile Co., Ltd. (Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo). Applications are accepted through an online form until October 11, 2026.
Five whiskies are on the tasting list, including Single Malt Nagahama THE NINTH BATCH and Single Malt Nagahama THE EIGHTH BATCH. Three "secret bottles" also appear, and one of them is an upcoming product that participants can taste ahead of its release.
The seminar runs for 90 minutes. Alongside Kazunori Shizutani, who holds the Master of Whisky qualification, participants can take their time exploring the many sides of Nagahama whisky in the words of its maker.
Tasting Lineup
The tasting features Single Malt Nagahama THE EIGHTH BATCH and Single Malt Nagahama THE NINTH BATCH, both of which went on sale on Tuesday, September 15, 2026. Tasting different batches at the same session makes it possible to compare the character and differences in flavor and aroma of each one.
The three "secret bottles" are a highlight of this seminar. One of them is an upcoming product that will be tasted ahead of its online release, and the other two are also prepared as special bottles. Participants can look forward to finding out what appears while comparing the individual character of all five whiskies.
- Single Malt Nagahama THE NINTH BATCH
- Single Malt Nagahama THE EIGHTH BATCH
- Secret Bottle (1)
- Secret Bottle (2)
- Secret Bottle (3)
- One of the secret bottles is an upcoming product tasted ahead of its release.
- The tasting items are subject to change.
The seminar is open both to people who already enjoy Nagahama whisky and to those who want to know more about it or compare whiskies while listening to the maker himself.
Event Details
- Event: Nagahama Distillery Chief Blender Yusuke Yaku Special Tasting Seminar
- Date: Monday, October 12, 2026 (Sports Day)
- Time: 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM
- Venue: BAR 新宿 ウイスキーサロン (Google Map)
- Capacity: 26 people, plus standing room
- Fee: ¥5,000 including tax
- Tasting: Five whiskies planned
- Speaker: Yusuke Yaku, Chief Blender, Nagahama Distillery
- Co-speaker: Kazunori Shizutani, Master of Whisky
- Registration: Online application form (accepted until October 11, 2026)
About the Speaker: Yusuke Yaku
Yusuke Yaku (Chief Blender, Nagahama Distillery, 長浜浪漫ビール株式会社)
Born in 1987 in Tokyo. While working as a bartender at a bar in Saitama, he visited distilleries across Japan, and he has worked at Nagahama Distillery since 2017. When he joined, he was mainly in charge of distilling and mashing as head of distillation. Today he works on Single Malt Nagahama and the Amahagan series, as well as new product development, collaboration projects and seminars. He serves as the only whisky chief blender at the company.
About Nagahama Distillery
Nagahama Distillery in Shiga Prefecture began operating in November 2016 and is one of the smallest distilleries in Japan. It stands in Nagahama, a town full of historic atmosphere on the shores of Lake Biwa, and has a craft beer brewery and a restaurant on site.
The distillery uses distinctive pot stills and matures its spirit in Nagahama's climate, which has large temperature swings, to produce original spirits with a character of their own. Guided by the aim of "making whisky that will be appreciated 100 years from now," it continues to pursue a craft spirit that can stand up around the world, and it is regarded as one of Japan's leading craft distilleries.
- Official website: https://www.romanbeer.com/whisky/
About the Venue: BAR 新宿 ウイスキーサロン
BAR 新宿 ウイスキーサロン opened in 2019 in Shinjuku 3-chome as a sister bar of BAR LIVET. It is run by Kazunori Shizutani, who holds the Master of Whisky title.
The bar's main focus is Japanese whisky covering most of the distilleries currently operating in Japan, and together with Scotch and other whiskies it stocks more than 700 brands. It offers more than 100 whisky-based cocktails known as ウイスクテイル (whisky cocktails). It has also developed more than 10 varieties each of the Whisky Sour and the Old Fashioned, two classic cocktails that rank near the top every year in The World's Best-Selling Classic Cocktails.
The bar won the first "The Bar World of Tomorrow" grand prize in an award by Time Out Tokyo that selects sustainable, forward-looking bars in Tokyo, and it was also chosen as one of the 「世界が選ぶ東京のBAR 10選」 (10 Tokyo bars chosen by the world).
- Address: Sato Building 3F, 3-12-1 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0022
- Business hours: 3:00 PM to 2:00 AM
About the Co-speaker: Kazunori Shizutani
Kazunori Shizutani (Representative Director, Royal Mile Co., Ltd.)
Kazunori Shizutani is the owner of BAR 新宿 ウイスキーサロン and the representative director of Royal Mile Co., Ltd. In 2019, he earned the Master of Whisky title, the highest qualification certified by the ウイスキー文化研究所 (Whisky Culture Research Institute), becoming the youngest person to do so at that time. He has visited nearly 100 distilleries in Japan and abroad. At the Tokyo Whisky & Spirits Competition (TWSC), he has served as a judge and chairman for six consecutive years since his award there in 2019.
