New whisky to honour ‘Scottish Samurai’

HE was the Scot now regarded as a national hero in Japan, where he helped industrialise the country by establishing the firm that became Mitsubishi.

Thomas Blake Glover also co-founded what is now the Kirin Brewery, as well as helping to restore Japan’s emperor to power.

The Nagasaki home of Fraserburgh-born Glover, who died in Tokyo aged 73 on December 16, 1911, is now a major tourism attraction, drawing nearly two million visitors a year. Now a special whisky is being released to mark the anniversary of the death of the ‘Scottish Samurai’ who became the first non-Japanese person to be awarded the Order of the Rising Sun.

The whisky, named The Glover, fuses mature Scotch with ultra-rare whisky from the Hanyu distillery in Japan. It was first launched in 2015, with £1,000 bottles of the rare blend selling out in 24 hours.

But Fusion Whisky and its distillery partner Adelphi said a temporary shortage of top-quality Japanese whisky then prevented the partnership from following up quickly on its sell-out 18-year-old variant.

Fusion Whisky director David Moore said: ‘I am excited by the prospect of a new release of The Glover, the iconic whisky that celebrates the life and legacy of Thomas Blake Glover, a true Scottish legend who had a profound impact upon Japan.

‘We’re not shy in saying we always wanted to make more of The Glover, though the odds of sourcing another Japanese whisky of that quality and rarity were stacked again us. We hope whisky lovers will be eager to see the return of The Glover, which we expect to be available next summer.’ While The Glover blends Scotch and Japanese whisky, the Edinburgh-based firm has produced other fusions of Scotch and world whisky, each one celebrating a historical figure.

Last month, Fusion Whisky and Adelphi released 400 bottles of their Winter Queen whisky, a 19-year-old blend of Scotch and Dutch whisky in honour of the Scottish princess Elizabeth Stuart.

It followed the release earlier this year of The Brisbane, fusing Scotch with whisky from the Starward distillery in Australia.