Japan’s Fuji Gotemba Distillery has announced the addition of Fuji Single Malt Whisky to its permanent Australian portfolio, to be distributed through Vanguard Luxury Brands.
The Fuji Single Malt starts with a base whisky that draws inspiration from Scottish single malts prior to receiving a contemporary Japanese makeover made using a combination of ex-bourbon, beer, and red-wine French oak casks.
According to Master Distiller and Blender Jota Tanaka, “Fuji Single Malt has aromas of ripe apples and Crème Brûlée while the palate takes on luscious ripe white peaches and fruit tart flavours. The finish is sweet, complex and surprisingly long.”
The release also deliberately coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Gotemba Distillery. Since being established in 1973, Fuji’s Gotemba Distillery has sought to adopt methods and technology from all leading whisk(e)y regions worldwide, differing from most other Japanese competitors that tend to emulate Scottish examples.
As Tanaka describes it, Fuji Gotemba is “the world’s only distillery that crafts, mashes, ages and bottles malt and three styles of grain whisky.”
In addition to being inducted into the Whisky Magazine Icons of Whisky Hall of Fame, Jota Tanaka is also only the second person in Japan’s history to earn the title of Master Blender. Tanaka has been in charge of the Mt Fuji Distillery since 2017 and has more than 30 years of whisky industry experience.
The new single malt release will join Fuji’s two existing Australian core range whiskies, the Fuji Single Grain Japanese Whiskey and the Fuji Single Blended Japanese Whisky.
The Fuji Single Grain Japanese whiskey is a blend of three types of grain whisky, inspired by bourbon, canadian and scotch respectively, and the Fuji Single Blended Japanese Whisky is an elegant fusion of Scotch-style malt and three different grain types, aged for up to 16 years.
The Japanese distillery is owned by the Kirin Group and is distributed through Australia by Vanguard Luxury Brands.
For more information visit fujiwhisky.com.
