Nevertheless, the boy secretly attended an art-school where he came across participants that also struggled with various established ideals.
They therefore founded their own art group in order to rebel against these superficial values and goals by the use of expressive art. This emotional rebellion was – paired with dark colour schemes – illustrated by the use of an ensō. It became the main feature of the group.
Initially, the artist group wanted to only rebel silently, but overtime they moved their protest on to the streets by spraying graffitiartworks on several house walls.
When the father found out that his own son was part of this group, a heavy quarrel broke out which eventually led to both of them going separate ways.
A couple of years later, there was a shift within the spirits industry when the art of mixology became more and more popular. This trend also sparked the father’s interest and he set himself the goal to create whiskies that unfold their full potential in longdrinks and cocktails.
His colleagues on the other hand were not as enthusiastic about this idea and criticized him heavily as they believed, a whisky should only be enjoyed neat. This idealism and stubbornness regarding Whisky-consumption finally opened the father’s eyes and he realized that his son and the art group had been right all along.
To pay tribute to this art group and their beliefs, the brand “ensō japanese whisky” was brought to life. The ensō brand wants to encourage people to be more creative and daring when it comes to whisky consumption. Therefore, all ensō whiskies – like the art group – rebel against existing ideals.
Ensō (円 相) is the japanese word for “circle” and is considered one of the „supreme“ symbols of zen. In zen, the ensō shows the spirit and the character of its painter. It is an expression of the current state of mind and drawing it is supposed to evoke power and enlightenment. An ensō is painted in one single brush stroke which cannot be modified later. Thus, an ensō is supposed to underline that every captured moment is unique and complete in its own Way – an ensō is therefore also understood as a rejection Of perfectionism.
