Yamazaki's Latest Single Malt Spent 25 Years In Mizunara Oak

Forbes

7 days ago

In the past decade, Mizunara-aged whisky has become something of a worldwide phenomenon, with distilleries far and wide clamouring for casks made from the rare wood sourced from Japan. Revered for its ability to impart complex flavors often compared to incense and sandalwood, cask prices can soar into the middle four figures—if one can even find barrels available for sale. Frequently and owing in part to its scarcity, Mizunara is used as a finishing wood to impart more depth to a spirit near the end of its aging cycle.
Given that context, Yamazaki's new ultra-premium single malt whisky is all the more remarkable: it spent a quarter century in Mizunari casks. And we got an early taste.
Announced on August 7th, Yamazaki 25 Years Old Mizunara is The House of Suntory's oldest 100% Mizunara-cask-aged Yamazaki. Japan's House of Suntory is no stranger to the wood variety. Founded in 1923, the Suntory-owned distillery is Japan's oldest commercial malt whisky operation. It has used Mizunari in various aging capacities since the 1940s.
Indeed, famed and extraordinarily scarce expressions like Yamazaki 55 Years Old have featured 'partial Mizunara maturation,' according to the brand. But such an old, fully Mizunara-aged spirit is exceedingly uncommon.
Yamazaki 25 Years Old Mizunara is bottled at 48% ABV (96 proof) and carries a suggested retail price of $7,500 or a 700 milliliter bottle. It's receiving limited distribution in select markets across the globe, including some high-end online retailers. According to the brand, it is fully distilled, matured, and bottled in Japan.
So how does it taste?
A heavily spiced nose opens at an intersection of seasoned wood and roasted/nutty malt, with additional scents including pine extract, nutmeg oil, cut fennel, and cooked orchard fruit. Aromas of cooked and reduced apples, pears, and peaches in syrup add some welcome sweetness that keep the nose from becoming completely dominated by spice.
The first sip is approachable, with first tastes of deep chocolate malt and very ripe papaya and guava. There's an interplay between—once again—the nutty malt character and sweet fruit, the latter noticeably more tropical than on the nose. Black walnut and a barely-there thread of dark cherry lend depth without bringing too much in the way of tannins. But the whisky never strays too far from its wood-spiced core, with restrained elements of aspen, pine, birch, and cedar wood. It's a palate that seems to tiptoe right up to the edge of heavily spiced without flavors becoming discordant; there's just enough room for the fruit and grain character to flourish in tandem.
The finish is length and lingers semi-heavily in the mouth, like the last sip of a rustic cream soda. Pops of sassafras and treacle punctuate for up to 30 seconds after each sip, joined by faint melted orange sherbet.