Yamazaki Distillery

Though not the oldest licenced distillery, Yamazaki is the oldest distillery in Japan dedicated to making malt whisky. Founded in 1923, Yamazaki was a pioneer in the Japanese whisky industry and remains the flagship brand of its owner Beam Suntory.

The distillery was built by Shinjiro Torii in the Vale of Yamazaki at the foot of Mt. Tennozan, just outside the city of Kyoto. Torii was a well known importer of European wines, and his company Kotobukiya would go on to become Suntory. Yamazaki was his attempt to create an appetite for whisky in Japan, which at the time was not a very popular drink.

For the first five decades of its life Yamazaki produced spirits solely for blends, not releasing a single malt from the distillery until 1984. Their first bottling was a 12 year old which remains the flagship expression to this day. Yamazaki has since gone from strength to strength, not only helping create a massive Japanese whisky market, but becoming extremely popular around the world. The distillery has expanded repeatedly to meet that demand, most recently in 2013 when four new stills were added.

The distillery is equipped with two mash tuns, 18 washbacks and sixteen pot stills. The washbacks are a mix of eight Oregon Pine and ten stainless steel. The stills don’t conform to any particular design in size, shape, or condenser type. The distillery now has an annual production capacity of 6 million litres of spirits a year. Water for whisky making is drawn from the juncture of three rivers between Mt Tennozan and Mt. Otokoyama.

The longevity and size of Yamazaki has given it the ability to put out a range of older whiskies. These are more consistently available than many Japanese single malts, but can still sell out quickly as much of the production is reserved for Beam Suntory’s blends.

The core range of single malts consists of the Distiller’s Reserve, with no age statement, as well as the 12 year old, 18 year old, and 25 year old. The 12 year old is a smooth and sweet whisky, with aromas of tropical fruit and a hint of spice. On the palate it has notes of vanilla and citrus joining honey and spices before a medium length finish.

The most recent limited editions to come from Yamazaki have been in the ‘Essence of Suntory’ trilogy, a 9 year old aged in virgin Spanish Oak, a 9 year old matured in ex-Montilla Wine casks, and a 10 year old aged in refill Sherry casks.