Nagahama Roman Pure Malt Whisky 8 Year 70cl

Eight years in oak gives this Japanese pure malt whisky a properly layered personality. It’s the kind of pour that keeps changing as you hang out with it, starting cosy and malty, then drifting into fruit, spice, and a lightly toasted finish.

• Nose: Toasted malt, baked apple, vanilla, a touch of honey and roasted nuts
• Taste: Cereal sweetness up front, then orchard fruit, caramel, gentle oak, and a flicker of ginger spice
• Finish: Drying oak, warm baking spice, and lingering malted biscuit

If you’ve been chasing Japanese whisky that isn’t all polite and whispery, this one has more to say. “Pure malt” means it’s built from malt whisky only (no grain whisky padding things out), so you get a fuller, more malt-forward core that shows up as biscuit, toasted grain, and that nutty sweetness.

The 8 year age statement matters here. It’s old enough to bring real structure from the barrel, think vanilla and oak spice, but still lively, with bright apple and caramel keeping things fresh. That balance is what makes it so easy to come back to, sip after sip.

It’s also a great bottle for the Japanese Whisky rabbit hole because it bridges two worlds. You get the clean, precise feel people love in Japanese whisky, plus the richer “bakery and oak” depth that malt fans crave.

Want a versatile whisky that can handle more than one vibe? This one’s a natural for a Whisky Highball when you want lift and snap, and it’s equally happy in a simple Old Fashioned where the malt and spice can stand up to a little sugar and bitters.

Fun Fact: Nagahama comes from one of Japan’s smallest distilleries, built in Shiga near Lake Biwa, and their whole Roman series is basically a love letter to malt-forward whiskies.