is a Japanese whisky

Japanese whisky

Whisky production in Japan began around 1870, but the first commercial production was in 1924 upon the opening of the country's first distillery, Yamazaki...

 distillery located in Shimamoto

Shimamoto, Osaka

is a town consisting of the entirety of Mishima District, Osaka, Japan.As of 2009, the town has an estimated population of 29,003 and a density of 1,730 persons per km². The total area is 16.78 km²....

, Osaka

Osaka Prefecture

is a prefecture located in the Kansai region on Honshū, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Osaka. It is the center of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area.- History :...

, owned by Suntory

Suntory

is a Japanese brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan. Its business has expanded to other fields, and the company now offers everything from soft drinks to sandwich chains...

. It was opened in 1923 and was Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

's first whisky distillery. Seven thousand bottles of unblended malt whisky are on display in the "Whisky Library".

History

In 1923, Shinjiro Torii, the founder of Suntory and the father of Japanese whisky, built Japan’s first malt whisky distillery in the Vale of Yamazaki. Using copper pot stills, the Yamazaki distillery was the first of its kind outside of Scotland.

The distillery’s location on the outskirts of Japan’s ancient capital of Kyoto offered pure waters, diversity of climate and high humidity—the ideal environment for the maturation of good whisky.

Today, Suntory Yamazaki is the most popular single malt whisky in Japan and is enjoyed by whiskey connoisseurs around the world. Suntory Yamazaki is currently exported to more than 25 countries, including the United States.

12 Year Old

Yamazaki Single Malt 12-Year-Old Whisky "is a medium-bodied whisky with the aromas of dried fruits and honey. It has a delicate, mellow taste with a lingering, woody, dry finish."

18 Year Old

Yamazaki Single Malt 18-Year-Old Whisky "is a full-bodied whisky with spicy cherry-like tones. The toffee aromatics of this copper-gold colored whisky offer a pleasant, long, dry finish."

There are other offerings outside of the US (which are the 12yr, 18yr, and 1984 which is limited to 300/2500 bottles), such as a 10 year, and 25 year. Some offerings are dated such as 1980, 1984, 1993, and lastly Puncheon and sherry offerings.

Evaluation

Spirit ratings

Spirit ratings

With a growing number of microdistilleries and an expanding number of offerings from large corporate entities, a number of institutions have arisen to provide professional evaluations of individual spirits...

organizations, such as the Beverage Testing Institute and the San Francisco World Spirits Competitions, have reacted very favorably to Yamazaki's offerings. Most notably, the 18-Year earned four consecutive double gold medals at the San Francisco Spirits Competitions between 2008 and 2011. Ratings aggregator Proof66.com places the Yamazaki 18-Year in the 96th percentile of all rated whiskies.

External links

Suntory Yamazaki Distillery Suntory Yamazaki Distillery