New Mackmyra Grönt Te Swedish Whisky Influenced By Green Tea

The Mackmyra whisky brand in Sweden launched some 20 years ago, making it one of the pioneers of whisky making in that nation. To date they’ve produced some interesting bottlings, some of which had made their way around the world into various markets. Some other fascinating ones are much more strictly limited, however, such as this recent release of a whisky “finished in casks steeped with a blend of elegant Japanese green tea leaves.”

The new Mackmyra Grönt Te, according to those behind it, is a Swedish single malt whisky that was finished in “newly saturated ex-Oloroso” casks. While sherry cask finishing of whisky is a well established practice in the industry, what’s particularly unique about this expression is that “a blend of Oloroso wine and the finest vintage Japanese green tea leaves” were used to season the finishing casks, reportedly “providing a subtly spicy and flavourful whisky with a fruity and floral finish.”

This whisky, whose name in Swedish means green tea, was inspired by Mackmyra Master Blender Angela D’Orazio, who recently was honored with a place in Whisky Magazine’s prestigious Hall of Fame. The distillery, to honor her, let D’Orazio “add her own personal touch to this spring’s innovative seasonal whisky expression.”

“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,” said D’Orazio in a prepared statement. “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 incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together, and I look forward with confidence to creating new exciting taste sensation.”

Mackmyra Grönt Te looks to be available directly through the distillery, bottled at 46.1% ABV and pricing around £60, or about $75 USD. Official tasting notes can be found below.

• Nose: Spicy, floral, red berries and fruits with notes of green tea, white pepper and roasted vanilla. Dried grapes, citrus, pear and forest berries.
• Mouth: Fruity and floral finish with fine vanilla,herbal green tea notes, green apples and finishing with a light spiciness.
• Summary: Spicy, fruity with herbal green tea leaves and rich vanilla.