Yamazaki Distillers Reserve | Japanese | Single MaltWhisky | Cherry, Raspberry and White Peach | Aged in Bordeaux Wine, Spanish Sherry and Japanese Mizunara Oak Casks | 43 Percent ABV | 70 cl

Product Information

This experience was a precursor to my venture into the liquor shop business, where I had the privilege of curating an extensive collection of liquors, granting me access to thousands of unique bottles from across the globe. Japanese whisky is proving to be rather popular at the moment and not being one to shy away from providing you with some lovely new whiskies, we were very pleased to have Shinji Fukuyo visit our shop for a very special tasting to launch the latest two releases from Suntory. These bottlings are what Shinji describes as being the ‘next generation’ of Suntory whisky – Yamazaki and Hakushu Distiller’s Reserve. Overall, it is an excellent malt whisky that provides a delightful taste journey from start to finish, leaving a positive impression with its smoothness and balanced flavor profile. Yamazaki 12 facts: Oily and slightly drying mouthfeel after a slightly bitter arrival. Incense, spices, some mizunara oak spices and dark chocolate at first. Toffee. Then plum, dark berries, orange peel, roasted malt, raisin, sultanas. Throughout the palate, there are persistent oakiness and spiciness, but at the same time well defined and balanced with the other flavours, underlining these other flavours instead of hiding them nor overpowering them. Finish:

Both the Yamazaki Distiller’s Reserve and the Hakushu are bottled without an age statement, something that has been a hot topic in the blogosphere of late! I’m treading very carefully, with this being my first TWE post, but I thought Shinji did explain his reasoning exceptionally well. His goal in creating whisky is maturity and not age, this he feels is key to his product. If it were to be bottled with an age statement, at a guess I would expect the youngest in here is about 8-10 years of age. However the sherry cask was probably closer to 20 years old! Food for thought… Soft arrival, then after a couple seconds a bit spicy. Creamy mouthfeel, but like diluted cream, it still is slightly thin. Fruits shine once again, with orange peel, pineapple, red apple and apricot. Chocolate, cocoa powder and cedar wood. Passion fruits, grapefruit and lemon juice. Finish: These were both very good whiskies but the Yamazaki 12 got downgraded from 8 due to the crazy price spike while the Distiller’s Reserve was weighed down by the sub par finish. Before the finish I was about to declare that the Distiller’s Reserve was a worthy successor in world without age statements but alas it wasn’t to be. In a world where an excellent 18 year old scotch wasn’t cheaper than Yamazaki 12 it would definitely have a place on my shelf but the Distiller’s Reserve didn’t quite make that cut.

Recent Tastings

While it may not be an extraordinary or groundbreaking whisky, it is well-balanced and exhibits no disappointing elements. Nose: Soft nose with a sweetness underlying the fruitiness. Kirsch cherries, summer berries & sherry. There is a dusty honeyed note with sweet vanilla. It's a lovely welcoming nose that you are happy to spend a bit of time with. Not overly complex but wonderful and mysterious. There is a sweet oak note which is the mizunara and offers a fragrant and slightly spiced note. Unless mandatory applicable law provides otherwise, your use of and membership to the Service are exclusively governed by Dutch law. We shall first try to settle any dispute over a dram of whisky. Disputes that cannot be settled over multiple drams of whisky shall be solely submitted to the court of Amsterdam, The Netherlands unless mandatory applicable law provides otherwise. Yamazaki is a powerhouse of a distillery. Competing alongside Nikka for my affections it is routinely churning out brilliant expressions. The 12 and the 18 - both having secured cult status. The 25 that I have sitting on my shelf which I am saving for the most momentous of occasions.

Without prejudice to the section Liability below, the Service may be temporarily unavailable during maintenance, updates, etc. We shall make reasonable efforts to inform you of any unavailability due to maintenance or updates.Way more expressive nose than the Distiller’s Reserve. Fruity and slightly spicy. Orange, pineapple, apricot and peach, maybe pear as well. It’s also flagrant almost like perfume. Cinnamon, honey, gentle oak, hints of smoke and sandalwood. Palate: Comments: This was just such a fantastic whisky to finish the night on. It’s rare that we see whisky that has had full-term maturation in Mizunara oak as they’re prone to leaking a lot. A very special whisky to end a very special night. The bottling is a marriage of ex-sherry casks, Bordeaux red wine caks and mizunara (Japanese oak) casks. You are responsible for all activities through your account. You are responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide to us in relation to your account, and for updating it where necessary. You are not allowed to create multiple accounts. We may terminate or temporarily suspend your account to protect you, ourselves or our partners from (suspected) identity theft or other (suspected) fraudulent (e.g. false, misleading, deceptive) activity. You have the obligation to keep your login credentials confidential. You shall not authorize any others to use or access your account.