Yamazaki 18 Year Old Mizunara Oak 2017 Limited Release

The 2017 limited release of Suntory's hugely well rated Yamazaki 18 Mizunara. This release saw just 1500 bottles produced exclusive to the Japanese market. Presented in a hand crafted wooden box made from old Yamazaki casks, this release has been matured in native Japanese oak Mizunara casks. A notoriously hard to work with wood type, Mizunara is quite pourous and is prone to leaking or rapidly over oaking the spirit. Suntory have persevered with the cask type and cracked the answer to proper Mizunara maturation, now including it in all their major bottlings.

Yamazaki

Opened in 1923 Yamazaki was Japan’s very first commercial whisky distillery. It’s located in the small town of Yamazaki, Shimamoto, just outside of Osaka and was originally commissioned by Kotobukiya, the company who would later become Suntory. The now legendary Masataka Taketsuru of Nikka whisky fame was appointed in 1924 to help create a high quality malt whisky. Taketsuru would later leave the company in 1934 and go on to found the Nikka Whisky Company. In 1934 Suntory’s first blend would be released using malt and grain whisky produced at the Yamazaki distillery in combination with Scottish made malt whisky. The company would focus on these blends all the way until 1984 when the very first ‘Pure malt’ whisky was released in the form of a Yamazaki 12 year, although originally it had no age statement. The 1980’s was a period of great innovation and rejuvenation for the distillery as it saw considerable investment, allowing for a greater variety of spirit makes and cask experimentation.

Heralded as the original Japanese whisky, Yamazaki products continue to win awards after awards. Utilising a variety of cask types and maturation methods has allowed Suntory to create a single malt that complements its blends very well. A core component of the highly awarded Hibiki blend, Yamazaki’s lighter and fruitier style contrasts that of its sister distillery Hakushu who is often more oily and smoky in nature. The huge demand for Japanese whisky has seen the landscape of Suntory’s range change, with a severe reduction in quantity of its age stated Yamazaki and Hakushu core products. The Yamazaki 12, 18 and 25 are in exceptionally high demand and as such a non-age stated distillers reserve release was created to ensure the malt remains accessible. Suntory releases a limited edition Yamazaki release each year, often using a variety of specialist casks and has experimented with everything from native Japanese Mizunara to Spanish Sherry casks. These releases are highly sought after and not commonly available outside of Japan.