Facts

Yamazaki 18 Years Old

Nose

Very, very smooth but incredible complex at the same time. At first chocolate raisins and a whiff of dark rum. Evolving vanilla and oriental spices. Then a delicate plum wine comes to the foreground. Moves on with cherry water pipe tobacco, red fruits and figs. And I cannot help myself but is there some smoke in the very distant background?

Taste

Full-bodied with creamy sherry. A noticeable oak influence as well. Again that delicate plum wine from the nose, now even more delicate. Followed by fresh lemon lime juice. Goes over in figs and dates.

Finish

Medium with a dry sweetness. Slightly spicy tobacco. Again a very distant smokey touch.

Overall

This single malt has a lot of superstar qualities – full of character and complex, yet incredible all-around balanced and smooth. The nose and the taste are perfectly matched to one another, only the the finish falls behind a bit. Still a true Japanese masterpiece.

Score: 94 / 100

Yamazaki 12 Year Old was matured in three different casks including American, Spanish and Japanese (Mizura) oak. The latter gives this single malt a very unique character so even when it shares some similarities with Speyside whiskies it is way more than a mere copycat.

Facts

Yamazaki 12 Years Old

Nose

A very delicious fruit salad. Plenty of white peaches and apricots. In addition, nectarines and pineapples. There is also some lemon zest in between. All this is rounded off by a few drops of honey and some vanilla bean syrup.

Taste

Smooth and soft to the palate. A delicate sweetness balanced by a just as delicate spiciness. Followed by sweetish citrus and the fruits from the nose.

Finish

Medium to long and slightly dry with an interesting mix of bitter citrus and hints of dark honey.

Overall

Stunning harmonic, yet surprisingly complex for a 12 Year Old. The fruitiness is just absolute lovely.

Score: 90 / 100

The Yamazaki Distiller’s Reserve was matured in sherry, wine (some sources say Bordeaux) and mizunara (Japanese oak) casks.

Right now prices for age stated single malts from Yamazaki are rising to new all-times highs so let’s see if this rather reasonably priced bottling can keep up with those.

Facts

Yamazaki Distiller’s Reserve

Nose

Very fruity but light. Plenty of white peach. A whiff of strawberries. More red fruits. Hints of coconut. I cannot help myself but this reminds me of medium sweet rose wine. More in the background a fine-tuned sweetness of honey. Raisins. Also a woody touch. Nutmeg.

Taste

A bit watery on the palate. A subtle honey sweetness. Again fruity, especially white peaches, balanced by a light spiciness. Hints of oak.

Finish

medium long and dry, once again a bit of oak with a minty note

Overall

Simple but pleasant. Do not expect any fireworks.

Score: 84 / 100

But now it is getting really interesting. From what I could gather, Yamzaki used puncheons which were previously seasoned with bourbon. Now that is a new one to me! So far I only knew of sherry or rum puncheons but I had never heard of bourbon puncheons before.

Anyways, the Yamazaki Puncheon is part of Yamazaki’s annual “Cask Collection”. The other three variants are bourbon, sherry and mizunara (Japanese oak). Last week I already reviewed the Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2013. It is reported that 2013 was the final year of the series.

Facts

Yamazaki Puncheon 2013

Nose

A whole lot of pears to start with. Then more fruits – peach, green banana and unripe pineapple. A subtle sweetness of heather honey and vanilla pod. Also some light touches of fresh oak. Overall fresh and fruity, but by the same token pretty youngish and a bit immature in the nose.

Taste

Rather strong. Malty and again fruity with a sour touch of lime juice and bitter orange peel. Than some sweetness of ripe fruits and vanilla infused honey. Balanced by some slightly peppery oak.

Finish

medium long with vanilla ginger cupcakes

Overall

Unfortunately, not much beyond the wood it was matured in. Fruity, balanced and easy-going but overall pretty one-dimensional.

Score: 84 / 100

Because I have no clue how a Macallan 10 Year Old tasted like in 1975, here are some hard facts:

The Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2013 is 100% matured in ex-sherry casks and is part of the annual “Cask Collection” from Yamazaki (Suntory). It is reported that 2013 was the final year of the series.

So let’s see what all the fuss was about.

Facts

Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2013

Nose

Rich and vibrant sherry notes as expected. Dry, walnuts – seems like oloroso sherry to me. I detect some raisins behind the massive sherry wall or at least I think so. A very appealing, engaging nose for sure. Makes curious for more.

Taste

Creamy at first but a certain sherry dryness develops soon. A strong, nutty taste. Some hardly noticeable fruits in the distant background – almost like dried fruits, maybe the raisins from the nose? Slightly sweeter at the end.

Finish

long with a strong focus on walnuts and raisins, again a very light fruitiness to round things off

Overall

This single malt keeps what it promises: vigorous, uncompromising sherry. In that sense, it is a well-balanced and truly exquisite sherry whisky. I would almost venture to say that this is the benchmark for other sherried whiskies. But is that really enough to be “the world best whisky”? Well, I am not too sure about that one. This is without a single doubt a very beautiful single malt but it can not live up the hype in my personal opinion.

Score: 91 / 100