Yamazaki 12 Years Old

First, a word from Bill Murray:

Indeed. The Yamazaki 12 is made by the Suntory distillery, as championed in Lost in Translation there. For those of you who are thinking, ‘WTF? Japanese whisky?’ you should be ashamed of yourselves: Japanese blends and single malts are well thought of these days. If you have insane amounts of time, check out this blog for a broader history (but only after you’ve read this post, okay?).

And for the Yamazaki 12, then – the only one of the Yamazakis that I’ve tasted so far.

On the nose: apples, floral notes, cut grass, grape juice. Quite sharp, quite fresh.

In the mouth: that freshness continues. This has a real Chardonnay / Viognier taste at first. A citrusy wine, taken over by peppery notes and other spices. More fruits a little later, then a hint of honey. It’s very clean and delicate indeed, and nicely balanced with a light finish.

An elegant dram. Something for spring. It’s also worth saying that I really do admire some of the design work on the bottle labels (as with many Japanese whiskies); they really are something quite stylish, without going overboard. You could pick a bottle up for around £35.

Keyword related posts:

1. Glenfarclas 15 Years Old
2. Ten Years Of Malazan