Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2016 is a single malt matured in Spanish oak casks seasoned with oloroso sherry, released on 1 February 2016. Suntory produced 5,000 bottles worldwide at 48% (96 proof); this is the 750mL size.
About This Whisky
Chief blender Shinji Fukuyo travels to northern Spain himself to choose the Spanish oak, which goes to the bodegas to be made into casks for oloroso. After three years of seasoning the casks return to Yamazaki. The 2016 uses the same lot of whiskies that formed the base of the Sherry Cask 2013, the edition Jim Murray named World Whisky of the Year, aged two years longer. Fukuyo then added rare sherry cask malts, some over 25 years old, for depth, mellowness and complexity.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Raisin, sun-dried tomato, clove, cocoa.
- Palate: Deep, rich, sweet and sour, chocolate with hazelnuts.
- Finish: Long, bittersweet, sour.
Serving & Food
Fukuyo recommends tasting it neat first for its clear, fresh top note, then adding water, which brings out a soft sweetness like the first apples of the harvest. Serve at room temperature. Good matches are jamón ibérico, dark chocolate with hazelnut or a slice of dundee cake.
How to Enjoy
Sherry-cask devotees and anyone building a set of the Yamazaki Sherry Cask releases.
Product Details
Producer: Suntory
Distillery: Yamazaki
Expression: Sherry Cask 2016
Country: Japan
Style: Japanese single malt whisky
Age: No age statement
Cask: Spanish oak, oloroso sherry seasoned
Bottles produced: 5,000 worldwide
ABV: 48%
Proof: 96
Volume: 750mL
About the Distillery
Yamazaki has earned the International Spirits Challenge's Supreme Champion Spirit title three years running: the 25 Year Old in 2023, the 12 Year Old in 2024 and the 18 Year Old in 2025. Suntory says no brand had won it three years in a row before.
The award covers every spirit category, not only whisky, and it went to three different ages, each a vatting of American, Spanish and mizunara oak. Sherry cask malt like this is one of the parts that go into them.