Written by Mika Tanimoto, Owner-Bartender, Bar Little Happiness — Hiroshima’s specialist whisky & rum bar with 1,000+ bottles
William Grant & Sons is one of the last major family-owned whisky companies in Scotland, and on their Dufftown estate in Speyside they operate three distilleries from essentially the same water source and the same raw materials, producing single malts that are nevertheless distinctly different from each other.
Glenfiddich is the world’s best-selling single malt Scotch — the entry point through which more people have encountered the category than through any other bottle. Balvenie, its neighbour on the same estate, is less widely distributed but increasingly sought-after for its complex, honeyed character and its own floor maltings and cooperage. And Kininvie, the most recently established and least-known of the three, was for years used primarily in blended Scotch before receiving its own single malt bottlings.
The Glenfiddich-Aston Martin Collaboration
Glenfiddich’s collaboration with Aston Martin — the luxury car manufacturer — is one of the more interesting brand alignment exercises in recent whisky history. The pairing might seem improbable on paper, but the reasoning holds together: both brands represent British craft heritage at the high end, both have devoted international followings, and both have designed their flagship products around the idea that refinement and performance can coexist.
The resulting expression, a 16 Year Old finished in wine casks with an Aston Martin co-branded label, brings together the distillery’s naturally fruity Speyside character with additional richness from the wine cask influence. It is whisky as lifestyle object — a category that increasingly defines how premium single malt reaches new audiences.
Glenfiddich and Balvenie expressions are available at Bar Little Happiness. Read the full Japanese column: little-happiness.jp/columns/glenfiddich-aston-martin-16y/
Bar Little Happiness | Hiroshima, Japan
Rum & Whisky specialists | 1,000+ bottles | English menu available
Open Mon–Sat 7PM–12:30AM, Sun 7PM–midnight
No cover charge. Walk-ins welcome.
english.little-happiness.jp