Japanese Sugi is the latest creation from Lora Hemy, head distiller at Roe & Co and the team at the innovative Roe & Co distillery, which is owned by Guinness maker Diageo and located at its St James's Gate site.
Lora came to distilling by an unusual route, following her nose.
She started out as an artist. “I always wanted to be a painter and loved art school but all my artwork started to take on a 3D form, coming out of the canvas,” she explains.
“From there I became interested in intangible art, using sound and aroma, which you can feel but can’t see or hold. I became hugely interested in the senses and that, more than anything, underpins my background.”
That fascination with the senses led to a career in sound engineering, as well as a growing interest in scent.
“Olfaction is our least understood sense – there is so much mystery attached to what we perceive rather than see visually - but it drives so many of our responses in life, sending us subliminal messages about our environment, about people, about eating. The drinks industry is driven by aromas and flavours,” she explains.
The industry was perfect for her, she just didn’t know it at the time.
“I was busy exploring perfume from an artwork perspective, creating aromas for multi-sensory installations,” she explains.
“All of my early explorations in spirits came from an art background.”
Along the way she had developed a love of whiskey, particularly Irish whiskey. “I spent 10 years falling in love with it, doing a lot of tasting and nosing,” she recalls.
At the age of 30 she decided it was time to focus on her twin passions, selling everything she owned to buy a one-way ticket to New Zealand, and winding her way back home via distilleries and perfumeries around the world.
On her return, a chance conversation at a distillery in Scotland led to her first job in the industry which she followed up with a Master’s Degree in distilling at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. After that she worked for a variety of distilleries, both gin and whiskey, “my real love”, she says.
There's a very well-trodden path into the drinks industry. I'm glad I didn't take it
As her reputation grew, helped by industry awards, new opportunities arose to oversee the design and build of a number of gin and whiskey projects.
Up until three years ago she was working on new product development at one of the UK’s most creative drinks companies.
“I was working on a lot of concepts and liquid finishes and taking innovative approaches, all driven by growing consumer interest in cocktails and mixed drinks, and of the trend of drinking less and drinking better. It has been fantastic for the industry, driving innovation and quality as people have become connoisseurs and learned to mix drinks themselves,” she explains.
The role was perfect for her. “There’s a very well-trodden path into the drinks industry. I’m glad I didn’t take it. My background has always felt like an advantage,” she says.
Little wonder she had no desire to leave. “I was very happy in my previous job and wasn’t looking to move. But three years ago I was approached by Diageo to become head distiller at Roe & Co and work at St James’s Gate. You just don’t say no to an opportunity like that and sure enough, I found myself on a plane.”
She has relished the experience. “It was a fascinating proposition from the start, a chance to do exciting and creative things with whiskey. It had me written all over it,” she adds.
Now two years into production, Lora and the team have been busy creating expressions of the future for Roe & Co, a premium blended Irish whiskey, named in honour of George Roe, an Irish whiskey pioneer. The focus on flavour detail has been worth it – Roe &Co Japanese Sugi won Gold Medal at the Spirits Business Irish Whiskey Masters.
We've created this whiskey for curious people who want to explore new flavours and aromas in their glass
The distillery now has a variety of offerings, including Roe & Co Single Malt, Single Grain and the Cask & Keg collection including Citra IPA and Antwerpen Stout in collaboration with their neighbours at the Guinness Open Gate Brewery.
But the product capturing attention right now is its newest release, Roe & Co Japanese Sugi.
The Sugi tree, a member of the cypress family, is used in Japan for everything from ship building to temples. “We wanted to expand the role that wood plays in the process of maturing whiskey, and Japanese Sugi has a very aromatic profile,” she explains.
“Sugi has had some use in very traditional Japanese sake production, for example, which rests in tiny casks. The wood is much less dense than oak, so the aromatic compounds have a much more active effect on the whiskey, almost like a perfume, which is what really interested me. We wanted to maximise the use of the wood but create balance, so that the wood and whiskey would work together, balancing all the character of Roe & Co with this unique and beautiful wood.”
To achieve the desired flavour profile, she used elongated bungs made of Japanese Sugi, which extend into the liquid in the cask during the maturation process. Planning an exploration into flavour through technical experimentation.
A local Irish cooperage sourced the Japanese Sugi wood and prepared the bungs- an unusual and challenging process that has never been done before. “Toasting opens up the surface of the wood using the gentle application of heat to access the perfect balance of the aromatic compounds from the Sugi. It’s important not to over extract the compounds, because the active nature of the Sugi wood could impart overpowering characteristics to the whiskey.” she explains. “In whiskey making we are always looking to create a balance between spirit and wood as this is what creates the layers of complexity that provide the sensory experience in the glass”.
“It’s almost a cliché to say it but my job really is a mixture of art and science, because you can’t always predict what will happen, but what we have ended up with is an Irish whiskey that has a unique flavour profile but which retains the core identity of Roe & Co Blended Irish Whiskey”
It’s a delight for both nose and palate alike.
“It is incense driven, with notes of toasted sandalwood, matcha tea, lychee and spice,” says Lora.
She loves seeing how creative its afficionados are too.
“We’ve created this whiskey for curious people who want to explore new flavours and aromas in their glass. Whether that means neat, on the rocks or making highballs and mixing in cocktails, I take the most inspiration from what people create with our whiskies when they take them home to explore and enjoy for themselves,” says Lora. “What I do is just the start.”
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