The 2013 Bourbon Barrel edition from Yamazaki's cask collection, a limited single malt drawn entirely from ex-bourbon barrels. It was bottled at 48% without chill filtration.
About This Whisky
Suntory's cask collection took the woods that make up Yamazaki, sherry, puncheon, mizunara and bourbon barrel, and bottled each on its own. Ex-bourbon American oak is the lightest of the four: rather than dried fruit or incense it gives vanilla, coconut and toffee. The 2013 edition is non-age-stated and uncoloured. Reviews describe it as soft and dessert-like, with banana toffee and creamy vanilla.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Banana toffee, mint, creamy vanilla, coconut and a little tropical fruit.
- Palate: Soft and sweet, with vanilla, marshmallow, caramel and gentle pepper and ginger.
- Finish: Medium to long, drying slightly to nutty oak, caramel and vanilla.
Serving & Food
This is the easy-going one of the cask series. Serve it neat or with a single cube of hand-cut ice in a rocks glass, slightly cool. It pairs well with tempura, grilled corn with miso butter or a banana tarte tatin.
How to Enjoy
Drinkers who prefer a lighter, sweeter Japanese malt, or anyone completing the Yamazaki cask collection.
Product Details
Producer: Suntory
Distillery: Yamazaki
Release: Bourbon Barrel 2013 Edition
Country: Japan
Style: Japanese single malt whisky
Age: No age statement
Cask: Ex-bourbon barrels
Chill filtration: No
ABV: 48%
Volume: 700mL
About the Distillery
Most distilleries make one house spirit. Yamazaki was set up to make many, and Suntory says few distilleries anywhere can produce such a range of whiskies on one site.
Each stage, fermentation, distillation, ageing and vatting, is varied to widen the palette. Craftsmen add new methods while keeping the skills handed down to them, which is what allows single-cask-type releases like this one to exist.