Swedish distiller Mackmyra is hoping to push boundaries and challenge palates with its latest seasonal release, which features Japanese green tea.
Mackmyra Grönt Te (Green Tea), a single malt whisky finished in casks steeped with a blend of green tea leaves, officially went on sale on 5 March. The distillery says the steeping has created an aromatic and floral whisky with notes of vanilla, green apples and herbal green tea.
The release follows an exciting year for the Gävle-based distillery in 2019, which saw it mark its 20th anniversary and the induction of its master blender, Angela D'Orazio, into the Whisky Magazine Hall of Fame.
Angela was the driving force behind the release of the new Grönt Te expression, which combined four varieties of green tea: yame sencha, a rich and flavourful tea from Fukuoka; kaoribo hojicha, a nutty tea with roasted leaves; yame gyokuro, with sweet and umami notes; and yame matcha, a shade-grown, stone-milled tea.
Angela said: "It's been a real pleasure to be able to put the limits of whisky to the test and create this spring's seasonal whisky. I'm very moved that I was given the opportunity to think free from old whisky traditions and combine my favourite flavour, green tea from Japan, with my great passion, whisky, even though something similar has never been done before. I'm really proud of what we've achieved together and I look forward with confidence to creating new exciting taste sensations."
Yuko Ono, a certified tea adviser who worked with Mackmyra on its new release, added: "Producing Japanese tea is in many ways similar to the production of whisky as they both share the same values in quality, taste and aroma experiences. Working on this project with Angela has been fun and extremely educational and I am very excited that Japanese tea can be used as a flavour in such an experimental way."
Mackmyra Grönt Te (Green Tea), a single malt whisky finished in casks steeped with a blend of green tea leaves, officially went on sale on 5 March. The distillery says the steeping has created an aromatic and floral whisky with notes of vanilla, green apples and herbal green tea.
The release follows an exciting year for the Gävle-based distillery in 2019, which saw it mark its 20th anniversary and the induction of its master blender, Angela D'Orazio, into the Whisky Magazine Hall of Fame.
Angela was the driving force behind the release of the new Grönt Te expression, which combined four varieties of green tea: yame sencha, a rich and flavourful tea from Fukuoka; kaoribo hojicha, a nutty tea with roasted leaves; yame gyokuro, with sweet and umami notes; and yame matcha, a shade-grown, stone-milled tea.
Angela said: "It's been a real pleasure to be able to put the limits of whisky to the test and create this spring's seasonal whisky. I'm very moved that I was given the opportunity to think free from old whisky traditions and combine my favourite flavour, green tea from Japan, with my great passion, whisky, even though something similar has never been done before. I'm really proud of what we've achieved together and I look forward with confidence to creating new exciting taste sensations."
Yuko Ono, a certified tea adviser who worked with Mackmyra on its new release, added: "Producing Japanese tea is in many ways similar to the production of whisky as they both share the same values in quality, taste and aroma experiences. Working on this project with Angela has been fun and extremely educational and I am very excited that Japanese tea can be used as a flavour in such an experimental way."
