Glenfiddich Grand Yozakura Whisky Review
We had the privilege of sipping The Glenfiddich Grand Yozakura. It is the first single malt scotch whisky to be finished in rare Japanese ex-Awamori casks. So we can't wait to tell you all about this expression!
Ok, before we take you on our journey of this tasting, let’s for a moment focus on a little bit of history behind Glenfiddich:
The Glenfiddich distillery was founded in 1887 by William Grant, a cattle herder turned whisky maker, in Dufftown, Scotland. The name "Glenfiddich" means "Valley of the Deer" in Gaelic, and the distillery is located in the heart of Speyside, an area known for producing some of the world's finest single malt whiskies.
Right, now back to our journey…
First up, this beautiful bottle and accompanying artwork was designed by Japanese artist June, and further enhanced by an ad campaign by director and designer Fantasista ‘Uta’ Utamaro.
"To reflect the experience of Yozakura, Utamaro has applied his signature technicolor sensibilities to capture the essence of a cherry blossom in full bloom against a night sky."
Upon pouring, the Grand Yozakura has a deep amber colour and a rich, swirling complexity.
However…there is more to this story. To our surprise, the nose of the Grand Yozakura did NOT reflect the taste. It had the deep rich nose of oak, but somehow hit us with a sweet and tender taste. Then the finish left us with something we could not quite put our finger on, which led us to believe this could only be the pure artistic flavour of the Awamori casks. Well done Glenfiddich! You showed us a bold, new flavour in the whisky world.
To be honest, we needed another bottle to truly give our best review, but due to limited worldwide quantities, this might prove to be difficult. But we do have a plan on getting our hands on more and we will update this review accordingly.
All we can say, after our first tasting of this whisky, you'll feel like you've just taken a stroll through a cherry blossom garden and landed on cloud nine. It's the kind of whisky that will make you want to call up your ex and say, "I know we broke up, but have you tried this whisky? It's life-changing!"