Two prominent Japanese whiskies have joined Mangrove Global’s stellar portfolio of world whiskies. Brought to European markets by Whiskies du Monde, the Akashi and Yamazakura whiskies will bring a fresh and exciting new offering to UK world whisky lovers – and be the first Japanese whiskies in the Mangrove portfolio. The two independent brands will make the most of Mangrove’s category and industry knowledge, to extend their reach across the off-trade, competing with the bigger players in the UK whisky market.
Akashi has an impressive back story, coming from the White Oak, Eigashima distillery, which was the first in Japan to receive a whisky licence back in 1919. Today the distillery is quite experimental, innovating with different cask finishes, ranging from sake to red wine. Akashi is a popular whisky in Japan and is representative of the typical style enjoyed by Japanese whisky drinkers.
The second whisky, Yamazakura Single Malt, is completely new to the UK and is the super-premium variety in the range, a selection of whiskies created at the Asaka distillery. The Asaka Distillery is the only one of its kind in Japan’s Tohoku region, and benefits from the area’s rich natural resources, including fresh water from one of the country’s largest lakes. The distillery only produces for 150 days of the year, with a small team of four people - which means there are only 10 barrels produced of the single malt, annually.
“Japanese whisky is an incredible genre of spirit and there is such care and attention going into each bottle – especially when it comes to export,” said Vincent Faesch, Area Manager for Europe at Whiskies du Monde
“UK whisky fans are becoming increasingly aware of how rewarding world whisky is as a category, and why the freedoms that international producers have create liquids that can be quite different from Scotch.
“Both Akashi and Yamazakura offer a wonderful drinking experience – and are must-have bottles within any whisky collection.”
Japanese whisky has successfully challenged the traditional Scotch market for many years, thanks to the precision and care taken by Japanese distillers. The timing for these brands to enter the UK market is ideal.
Nick Gillett, Managing Director at UK spirits distributor Mangrove Global said: “At Mangrove, we’ve been championing world whiskies for a long time now, and no world whisky portfolio is complete without some quality Japanese spirits.”
