Released in Spring 2014, this is one of two Distiller's Reserve single malt whiskies from Suntory in Japan. This single malt from the Yamazaki distillery is jam-packed with superb red berry notes, gained from the whisky being matured in Bordeaux wine casks and Sherry casks. It also features malt matured in Mizunara casks, adding subtle fragrant oak notes.
Classic Yamazaki strawberries and dried fruits with floral notes coming from the Mizunara cask whisky. Fragrant sandalwood and maybe coconut. Certainly a whisky where you could get lost in its nose!
The dried berries remain lively on the palate (it even develops some raspberry notes along the way), but they're dialled back a bit to make room for light oak, white peach and a small amount of spice.
Vanilla lasts and lasts, with spicy but sweet cinnamon acting as a final flourish.
Top quality Japanese whisky, and excellent value too. Can't go wrong with this, really.
Dull taste. High price. No finish. Over-hyped and disappointing.
Delicious! sugared red fruits and sweet with a morish, cinnamon, aromatic depth.
I am not a whisky expert but i really love the taste. The experience i had i would describe as very comfortable like being snug under a blanket on a cold rainy day. i sip this with my friend through the night and just enjoyed the flavors. That being said, it is more expensive and i feel that for that price, you could get a better whisky. i am not saying this because of the no age but rather, i think you can get more from other scotch for that price. But if you have it in your vault already, its really enjoyable.
This is a terrible Yamazaki. Very young, unsherried, no finish. The Yamazaki 12 is slightly better. The new Hibiki NAS "Harmony" is still better and a better value than the Yamazaki 12. The Limited Edition Yamazakis brought out each year are good value and an excellent every day dram. The Yamazaki 18 is a very good sherry bomb, unfortunately insanely over-priced. Yamazaki Sherry Cask is one of great bottles, difficult to obtain. The Yamazaki 25 is in a world of it's own and bears no relation to any of the others. It is one of the greatest whisky expressions ever created.
First time and I like it - fresh but not thin and a sweet depth to it. I know I like a whisky when I can't stop smelling the empty glass!
