Yuza

Japanese whisky from a small distillery at the foot of Mount Chokai in Yamagata, known for its clean, sweet and fruity house style.

Yuza is a small whisky distillery in Yamagata Prefecture, at the foot of Mount Chokai near the Sea of Japan. It began making whisky in 2018, with a focus on small-scale production and a clean, sweet, fruit-led style.

Casa de Vinos is the exclusive Australian importer of Yuza. For us, it is one of the distilleries that makes following Japanese whisky so interesting: a young producer with a clear idea of what it wants to make, and releases that give us different ways to taste it.

Whisky from Yamagata

Yuza takes its name from the town where it stands, surrounded by mountain springs and the snowy landscape of northern Japan. The team chose the location after a two-year search, drawn to its cold spring water, clean air and humid conditions.

Behind the distillery is Kinryu, a company established in 1950 by nine sake makers in nearby Sakata. That brewing heritage informs Yuza's approach, but its whisky history is much younger. Production is deliberately small, and the team releases whisky when it considers the casks ready.

What does Yuza whisky taste like?

We can describe Yuza house style as clean, sweet and fruity. Bourbon-cask maturation is central to its annual single malts, giving a useful introduction to the distillery's character. Other releases bring sherry or mizunara oak into the picture.

If you enjoy fruit-led whisky, Yuza is worth getting to know. The releases are not interchangeable, though: cask selection, bottling strength and maturation can change the balance considerably. Choose by the individual expression rather than assuming every Yuza will taste the same.

Choosing a Yuza release

For a closer look at Yuza's use of different casks, compare Yuza Third Edition 2023 with Yuza Spring in Japan 2024. Third Edition brings mizunara into its cask selection, while Spring in Japan offers a sherry-led variation.

The year in a release name is not an age statement. Check the bottle's details for its maturation, cask composition and strength, especially when comparing an annual edition with an age-stated single malt.

Yuza at Casa de Vinos

We have been importing Japanese whisky for more than a decade and visit Japan every year to follow producers and new releases. Yuza forms part of our wider Japanese whisky selection, bringing a Yamagata perspective to a range spanning distilleries across the country.

If you would like help choosing a bottle, tell us what you already enjoy drinking. You can also visit Casa de Vinos Lounge in South Melbourne to discover more Japanese whisky by the glass and ask about upcoming tastings.

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