DISTILLERY PROFILE
Yuza: less is more
The small-scale distillery of Yuza in northern Japan is taking its expertise in distilling shochu to focus on crafting a one-of-a-kind whisky, which is traditionally Japanese and where attention to detail and craftsmanship is at the heart of production
WORDS: RICHARD GOSLAN
Big is not necessarily better – at least according to the team behind Yuza, the distillery nestled near the active volcano of Mount Chokai in the north of Japan’s main island of Honshu.
ABOVE: Masaharu Sasaki, president of Yuza’s founding company Kinryu
The distillery’s founding company, Kinryu, is the only specialist in producing Japan’s shochu in the area of Yamagata, but a declining demand for the distilled spirit and an ageing population of likely customers led to the company coming up with a new vision – to produce a Scotch style whisky, where attention to detail rather than volume of distillation is at the heart of its philosophy.
“Our company was established in 1950 and still has a high market share with our locally produced shochu, but with the problem of population decline, sales are expected to fall significantly in the next 20 to 30 years,” says Masaharu Sasaki, president of Kinryu. “For this reason, we have had a long-held desire to develop a new business and create another pillar while the shochu business is still going well.
“I knew that [Ichiro Akuto’s] Venture Whisky from Chichibu distillery had become the best in the world, and I felt a fascination with making whisky. As our company has a long history of making distilled spirits, we feel close to the whisky business.
“Against this background, we entered the whisky business in 2018 and began operations in November of the same year.”
“Although the scale is small, the distillery is authentic and produces craft whisky … we only sell whisky that meets the definition of Japanese whisky.”
Kinryu’s goal when it designed and set up Yuza distillery was to focus on small-batch production that maintained a strong commitment to Japanese whisky’s heritage, but using a Scottish style of production.
“Although the scale is small, the distillery is authentic and produces craft whisky,” says Sasaki. “For the sake of quality, we spare no expense or time, and continue to deliver the best to our customers. At Yuza, we only sell whisky that meets the definition of Japanese whisky.
“This commitment is the philosophy of Yuza, and we deliver only premium class products.”
The distillery itself was kitted out by Forsyth’s of Speyside, with a 5,000-litre wash still and 3,400-litre spirits still. There are five Canadian Douglas fir washbacks and production capacity is around 110,000 litres of pure alcohol (LPA) per year – a volume that puts it in the same kind of scale as small Scottish distilleries such as Ballindalloch or Nc’Nean.
PICTURED: Yuza draws water from under the nearby volcanic Mount Chokai
PICTURED: The SMWS on a visit to Yuza distillery
Water from under volcanic Mount Chokai is used for cooling, with approximately 30 tonnes of chilled water flowing every hour at a temperature of 12 degrees throughout the year, a feature that the company believes has had a positive effect on the production of its shochu.
Yuza imports its malt from Scotland, which is then stored in silos within its raw materials warehouse – a rare measure for a craft distillery in Japan to take. They also import fresh distillery yeast from Scotland, and have constructed a Scottish-style dunnage warehouse on site.
As to what Society members can expect from Yuza, Sasaki says: “Yuza distillery is currently in its sixth season, and maturation is progressing smoothly. I am confident that things will continue to change for the better over the next eight, 10, and 12 years. We will continue to deliver high quality products while maintaining the ‘cleanliness’ that is the characteristic of Yuza distillery’s alcohol quality, so please look forward to it!”
Society members can also look forward to bottlings from Yuza – with Cask No. 158.1: Shirley Temple and a ‘grown-up’ limeade coming soon.
Find out more about Yuza distillery at https://yuza-disty.jp/
