DISTILLERY · SHIMAMOTO, OSAKA, JAPAN
Yamazaki Distillery
Japan's first malt distillery — where Suntory built a national whisky from scratch.
Founded in 1923 by Suntory's Shinjiro Torii at the foot of Mt. Tennozan near Kyoto — where the Katsura, Uji and Kizu rivers meet — Yamazaki is Japan's first and oldest malt whisky distillery. First bottled as a single malt in 1984, its house style is built on soft mountain water, a blender's array of still shapes, and three oaks — American, Spanish sherry and rare native Mizunara — prizing balance and aromatic precision over power.
THE YAMAZAKI RANGE
From Distiller's Reserve to the 25.
One spirit, three oaks — deepened by age
Distiller's Reserve
entry · NAS · 43%
The no-age-statement house style — orchard fruit, vanilla and a hint of Mizunara.
1 bottle →
Yamazaki 12
flagship review · 43%
The quiet benchmark that carried Japanese malt to the world.
Yamazaki 18
core range · sherry-led
Deeper and darker — dried fruit, chocolate and older oak.
1 bottle →
Yamazaki 25
prestige · allocated
A quarter-century in sherry oak — rare, revered, priced like it.
collector path →
Sherry Cask 2013
limited · 48%
The release Jim Murray crowned World Whisky of the Year.
collector path →
Tsukuriwake Selection
annual · cask studies
Single-oak experiments — Mizunara, Spanish oak and peated malt.
collector path →
YAMAZAKI BOTTLES · REVIEWED & RANKED
The bottles.
scored / 100 · prices checked july 2026
| Rank | Bottle | Note | Score | Price | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Yamazaki 25 Yearsingle malt · sherry oak · 25 yr | A quarter-century in Spanish oak — the pinnacle of the house. | 96SCORE | $12,000+ | COMING SOON |
| 02 | Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2013single malt · 48% · limited | Jim Murray's 2015 World Whisky of the Year — sherried and rare. | 96SCORE | $8,000+ | COMING SOON |
| 03 | Yamazaki 18 Yearsingle malt · sherry-led · 18 yr | Dried fruit, chocolate and deep oak — the connoisseur's Yamazaki. | 95SCORE | $1,200 | COMING SOON |
| 04 | Yamazaki 12 Yearjapan / yamazaki / single-malt / yamazaki-12 | The quiet benchmark — orchard fruit, vanilla and Mizunara incense. | 94SCORE | $230 | READ REVIEW → |
| 05 | Yamazaki Distiller's Reservesingle malt · NAS · 43% | The no-age-statement entry — soft fruit and gentle spice. | 88SCORE | $130 | COMING SOON |
YAMAZAKI — THE STORY
Japan's first malt, since 1923.
In 1923, Suntory founder Shinjiro Torii built Yamazaki at the foot of Mt. Tennozan near Kyoto — a bet that Japan could make a great whisky of its own. He chose the site for its soft water and humid, misty air where three rivers meet, and the first Yamazaki single malt followed in 1984.
The house style leans on a blender's array of still shapes and three oaks — American, Spanish sherry and native Mizunara, whose sandalwood-and-incense perfume exists nowhere else. Balance is prized over power. Global fame arrived after the Sherry Cask 2013 was named World Whisky of the Year in 2015, and the Japanese-whisky boom that followed emptied the shelves of aged stock.
Answered by Mae Sinclair · The Pacific Seat
i.Who founded Yamazaki?
Suntory's Shinjiro Torii built it in 1923 near Kyoto — Japan's first and oldest malt whisky distillery. His team shaped a house style prizing balance and aroma, and the first Yamazaki single malt was bottled in 1984.
ii.What is Mizunara oak?
A rare Japanese oak used for some Yamazaki casks. It perfumes whisky with sandalwood and temple-incense notes found nowhere else — and it's porous and hard for coopers to work, part of why aged Yamazaki is so scarce and pricey.
iii.Why is Yamazaki so expensive and hard to find?
A global Japanese-whisky boom — accelerated by the Sherry Cask 2013 winning World Whisky of the Year in 2015 — outran decades-old stocks. Aged expressions like the 18 and 25 are heavily allocated and now trade far above old retail.
iv.Which bottle should I buy first?
Distiller's Reserve (~$130) is the accessible entry. Our reviewed pick is the Yamazaki 12 at 94/100 (~$230) — read the review.
v.Can we send you our whiskey?
Yes — and it's the only way to earn a Superior Rating. Distilleries are welcome to send bottles for the full panel: two per expression, one decanted into blind samples for the three of us, one sealed on file. All three seats taste it blind and the scores are averaged. Sending buys three honest opinions and nothing else — nobody sees a score before publication.