Glover – Adelphi Release – A Scottish and Japanese History

Keeping informed of the latest whisky releases can be a momentous effort with special editions hitting the market with a unique angle on an almost weekly basis. Marketing bods are masters of dragging a local legend or Gaelic into the spotlight and draping it across a bottle label.

Many are touted as limited editions without giving us a specific outturn number so if it’s not a single cask release or number specific you simply view these as not being truly limited.  Others do not warrant much interest due to fancy packaging or cask acing. The latest press releases are full of such examples, so for once it’s interesting to see a whisky that does tap into heritage and tries to bring it into today’s environment with relevance.

This whisky is simply known as The Glover. No, it isn’t named after the cop actor Danny, but in retrospect would be an ideal contender for a fanciful Hollywood epic except that it is based on fact. The man in question is Thomas Blake Glover who was the son of a Fraserburgh Coastguard Officer. A native of the North East of Scotland, Glover joined Jardine Matheson & Co after school; a company which had made its reputation in the Far East trading with China.

Posted to their Shanghai office in 1857 he was on the opposite side of the world far from Scotland. This secondment offered him the opportunity to take advantage of international pressures when Japan decided to end its period of Sakoku, or roughly translated as ‘locked country’. This transition began in 1853 when the anchored ships of Commodore Matthew Perry forced the Japanese to consider trade with the West. It was a forceful show of strength as these large warships possessed technology and weaponry beyond what the Japanese could muster in their defence.

The ending of Sakoku was not the final chapter in the political and culture changes that were sweeping across Japan. Rather it was only the opening salvo with the Meiji Restoration soon to follow in 1868. Many of the prime native instigators realised that Japan had fallen behind other countries and a new dawn with industrialisation at its heart was required. It was into this chaotic political and cultural environment that Glover found himself when he was posted to the Nagasaki office. For Glover the most immediate difficulty would have been the daily suspicion and resistance Westerners were viewed with at the time.

Starting with the prized commodity of green tea, Glover soon moved into other avenues including arms and ships which were in huge demand. He was so successful that he learned Japanese and set up as an independent merchant tapping into his family ship building connections. His dealings with important clan members soon provided important connections and helped him establish several leading ventures of the time. He also assisted the Samurai in overthrowing their Shogun and restoring the Emperor to the throne, prompting his nickname of the Scottish Samurai. His remarkable career was crowned when he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor and was the non-Japanese citizen to receive this honour. His house today in Nagasaki is a major tourist destination, overlooking the harbour it is the oldest Western style building in Japan. In essence Glove was a remarkable man who lived a remarkable life of which there is much more than just this brief summary.

How about the whisky? The obvious connection are the countries although Glover did establish the first major brewing company in Japan. The Glover has been released in two expressions both of which feature in this month’s auction. Both have been created by respected independent bottler Adelphi Distillery Ltd and we’ll tackle the most exclusive release in greater detail.

This luxury bottling represents the first blending of Japanese and Scottish whiskies. From Scotland 2 single casks from Longmorn and Glen Garioch distilleries were selected. Around 35% is from Longmorn distillery from an ex-sherry American hogshead and what is summarised as a ‘drop’ from Glen Garioch via a Spanish oak ex-sherry butt. This was done more as a homage to Glover’s original home in Fraserburgh rather than any distinct flavour profiling. The remainder of the blend which we can anticipate is over 50% from the information provided comes from a closed distillery in the form of Hanyu. Often overlooked, Hanyu distillery closed in 2000 and was dismantled in 2004. Whilst it does not enjoy the fanboy enthusiasm of Karuizawa distillery, I’ve never had a bad whisky from Hanyu. Today it is more widely known for the Playing Card series bottled by Ichiro Akuto that is increasingly sought after.

One thing is certain and that’s there aren’t many Hanyu casks left to be discovered, which makes the fact that the minds behind the Glover concept managed to obtain one even more remarkable. This refill sherry hogshead was shipped to the UK before being married with the Scottish whiskies to create this unique hybrid blend. Bottled at 53.1% strength and 22 years of age there are just 390 hand-numbered bottles. The other edition is more affordable yet still limited to a total batch of 1500 bottles and is 14 years of age and consists of Japanese and Scottish whiskies.

Check out the New Glover bottles on this week’s Just Whisky Auction.