FUYU means “winter” in Japanese. Fuyu Mizunara is a three year old blend made up of 50% malt and 50% grain. This whisky is matured in American white oak barrels, with a six month finishing period in Mizunara barrels. Mizunara means “water and oak”, and what makes it special is the fact that it contains lots of naturally high moisture and its incredibly permeability that produce the aromas that are so unique to Japanese whiskies matured in Mizunara barrels. Faced with the impossibility of sourcing American and European casks
during World War Two, the Japanese had to set up their own cooperages and use local oak. After a lot of research, Japanese cooperage selected mizunara, a variety of oak native to the archipelago that grows in the forests of Hokkaido and Tohoku. Mizunara oak has unique flavor attributes, such as coconut and incense. Mizunara casks are limited and expensive : eight times more than an American or French cask.