As far back as 2015, Shizuoka Distillery had long set out to produce whiskies that reflected its locality, with the distillery not only incorporating local cedar and cypress wood into its furnishings, but also making use of locally harvested fire wood for its direct fired pot still, yet one thing still eluded them - local barley.

Shizuoka Distillery founder Taiko Nakamura had explained that it was not common for Japanese farmers to grow barley - certainly not enough to make whisky with - with rice being the primary staple crop. On top of that, local barley typically had higher sugar content compared to European grown barley, which was not as suited for whiskymaking. Nevertheless, Nakamura had still set out to work with local farmers to make local barley Japanese single malt whiskies a reality.

Now, in 2026 it's all coming together with the new Shizuoka Local Barley United S 5 Year Old!

With the support of local farmers and Shizuoka Prefecture organisations, the project would start literally from scratch with just rice seeds to begin with.

"The time has come for us to be able to deliver to many people a whisky that is uniquely Shizuoka, that we aimed for in 2015.

At the time, there was a belief in Japan that "Japanese barley cannot be used to make good whiskey." And it was a time when no one even considered distilling whisky using 100% local barley.

Having tasted the alcohol produced by Japanese wine makers, who start by growing grapes, and Sake breweries that ferment using local rice, I wondered what it would taste like if a whisky could be made that similarly expresses terroir, and with that in mind, Shizuoka Distillery is working to produce whisky using 100% Shizuoka barley.

Since we were starting from scratch, we were able to release just one barrel in 2023, but we were only able to produce 306 bottles.

Now in 2026, we will finally be able to release the product on a scale that can be sold nationwide and overseas.

We're still at the starting point, but please look forward to Local Barley as it creates a new era for Japanese whisky."

Shizuoka Distillery Founder Taiko Nakamura

The new 5 Year Old Shizuoka Local Barley United S 2026 Edition is made by combining whiskies made in both of the distillery's pot stills (named Pot Still W and Pot Still K), and is bottled at 50.5% ABV, presented in a 500ml bottle. It will be made available from late March 2026, and will be priced at 15,554 Yen (US$98.47).

Kanpai!

88 Bamboo Editorial Team