A 750mL bottle of the sherry-led Yamazaki 25 Year Old, presented in its original wooden case. The 750mL size was made for markets such as the United States, and the whisky is bottled at 43%.
About This Whisky
Yamazaki 25 first appeared in 1999. In its original form it leaned heavily on sherry casks, which gave a dark colour and a dense profile of dried fruit, coffee and old wood. Suntory later reworked the recipe as a vatting of American, Spanish and Japanese mizunara oak to bring it in line with the 12 and 18 Year Old. Chief blender Shinji Fukuyo has said the new version drew on the limited Yamazaki 1984 bottling. This bottle belongs to the earlier, sherry-led style, so expect more raisin and less incense than the current release.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Prune, raisin and baked fruit, then cinnamon, old oak and a little smoked honey.
- Palate: Thick and oily. Sherry richness first, then espresso, caramel, liquorice and more dried fruit.
- Finish: Long and drying, with polished oak, cocoa and a trace of spice.
Serving & Food
Pour a small measure into a crystal nosing glass at cellar temperature, around 18°C, and take it slowly. Good partners are Manchego with quince paste, candied orange peel or duck breast with a cherry sauce.
How to Enjoy
A formal gift with the case intact, or a centrepiece bottle for a quiet evening of old Japanese malts.
Product Details
Producer: Suntory
Distillery: Yamazaki
Expression: 25 Year Old (sherry-era recipe)
Country: Japan
Style: Japanese single malt whisky
Age: 25 years old
Cask influence: Mainly sherry casks
ABV: 43%
Proof: 86
Volume: 750mL
Presentation: Original wooden case
About the Distillery
Shinjiro Torii established the Yamazaki Distillery in 1923, making it Japan's first and oldest malt whisky distillery. He admired Scotch but wanted something distinctly Japanese, so he looked for a site whose terrain and climate were quite unlike Scotland's.
He settled on the edge of Kyoto, in an area once called Minaseno and known for the purity of its water. A century on, Yamazaki is still owned by the company he founded.