The Yamazaki distillery, Japan’s first malt whisky distillery, has greatly contributed to establishing the celebrated reputation that Japanese whisky has around the world over the years with its high-quality single malt expressions. Back in 1923, Shinjiro Torii chose the Vale of Yamazaki as the place where he would build his whisky distillery for its supply of good water and a favourable climate for maturation. Torii had already made a name for himself selling sweet wines and importing European wines to Japan as the Kotobukiya Company (which would eventually become Suntory), but whisky was not a drink enjoyed by many in the country back then. Never-the-less, Torii was determined and the first spirit ran from the Yamazaki stills in 1924. Masataka Taketsuru helped to build Yamazaki and worked there for some years before leaving to start Nikka.
The first whisky they produced was Shirofuda Whisky in 1929, followed by their Kakubin in 1937, which was very popular indeed (and still available in its distinctive tortoise-shell bottle today!). It wasn’t until 1984 that the distillery (now with Torii’s second son Keizo Saji at the helm) released their very first Yamazaki Japanese single malt whisky – the Yamazaki 12 Year Old. In the late 1980s, the distillery was renovated – they were back in action in 1989, newly kitted out with wooden and stainless steel washbacks alongside directly and indirectly heated stills.
In the 1990s, the popularity of Yamazaki’s whisky grew and new expressions were introduced. This included the Yamazaki 18 Year Old in 1992, the Yamazaki 10 Year Old in 1995 and the Yamazaki 25 Year Old (released to mark the 100th anniversary of Suntory). In 2006, third generation Master Blender Shingo Torii switched production of Yamazaki’s whiskies to smaller pot stills, and in 2013 the distillery underwent an expansion to install four more stills – Yamazaki is now home to 12 stills of three different varieties. This allows them to create whiskies with different flavour profiles, which is useful for blending, as Suntory and Nikka own the biggest distilleries in Japan, and there is little exchange between them.
Yamazaki’s whiskies have received their fair share of awards – the Yamazaki 12 Year Old was the first Japanese whisky to be given a Gold Medal at the International Spirits Challenge in 2003 and the Yamazaki 1984 was crowned the Supreme Champion Spirit at the International Spirits Challenge 2010, selected from every entrant of all categories. Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2013 was named Jim Murray’s World Whisky of the Year in his 2015 Whisky Bible to much acclaim.
€470Original price was: €470.€399Current price is: €399.
The pictures are from the actual bottle frond and back, if you’d like more detailed photos just get in touch!
This is the original release of Suntory Royal, bottled to commemorate the company’s 60th anniversary in 1959.
Originally released in the 1960’s to celebrate Suntory’s 60th anniversary, this bottle was produced much more recently Distilled and Vatted at Yamazaki Distillery.
Suntory are one of the founding fathers of Japanese whisky, established by Shinjirō Torii in 1899 as a wine store in Osaka. The venture was hugely successful, and the company was renamed Kotobukiya in 1921, which built its first distillery three years later, Yamazaki. The distillery produced both malt and grain whiskies which the company blended together, releasing its first Suntory White Label in 1929, the resulting popularity of which saw the firm renamed after it 1963. Expansion in the next decade saw the company move its grain production to a new Chita distillery in 1972, and open a second malt distillery, Hakushu, the following year. Suntory today has a large stake in both the bourbon and Scotch whisky industry, but remains at the forefront of its native whisky market too.
€475Original price was: €475.€399Current price is: €399.
The pictures are from the actual bottle frond and back, if you’d like more detailed photos just get in touch!
This is the original release of Suntory Royal, bottled to commemorate the company’s 60th anniversary in 1959.
Originally released in the 1960’s to celebrate Suntory’s 60th anniversary, this bottle was produced much more recently Distilled and Vatted at Yamazaki Distillery.
Suntory are one of the founding fathers of Japanese whisky, established by Shinjirō Torii in 1899 as a wine store in Osaka. The venture was hugely successful, and the company was renamed Kotobukiya in 1921, which built its first distillery three years later, Yamazaki. The distillery produced both malt and grain whiskies which the company blended together, releasing its first Suntory White Label in 1929, the resulting popularity of which saw the firm renamed after it 1963. Expansion in the next decade saw the company move its grain production to a new Chita distillery in 1972, and open a second malt distillery, Hakushu, the following year. Suntory today has a large stake in both the bourbon and Scotch whisky industry, but remains at the forefront of its native whisky market too.
€520Original price was: €520.€440Current price is: €440.
The pictures are from the actual bottle frond and back, if you’d like more detailed photos just get in touch!
One of the Japanese whisky giants, Kotobukiya, or as we know them today; Suntory. The company was founded by Shinjiro Torii in 1899, first as an importer of Western wines and liquor. As he progressed within the business, he decided to build Japan’s first distillery despite protests from company directors. This is where Masataka Taketsuru comes into the picture. He was hired as a distillery executive at Yamazaki on the outskirts of Kyoto. He later left the company to found his own. Suntory developed Japan’s interest with whisky by opening Torys bars throughout the country and introducing ways to drink and enjoy the spirit. Now they produce numerous ranges including Yamazaki, Hibiki, and Hakushu.
Blended whisky Suntory Royal was launched in the 1960 to mark the company’s 60th anniversary. This 15-year-old bottling is light and soft with notes of toffee, ginger and spice and is a great introduction to the world of Japanese whisky.
€375Original price was: €375.€299Current price is: €299.
The pictures are from the actual bottle frond and back, if you’d like more detailed photos just get in touch!
Suntory Royal 72cl
A Japanese blend from Suntory, originally launched to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the company.
Suntory are one of the founding fathers of Japanese whisky, established by Shinjirō Torii in 1899 as a wine store in Osaka. The venture was hugely successful, and the company was renamed Kotobukiya in 1921, which built its first distillery three years later, Yamazaki. The distillery produced both malt and grain whiskies which the company blended together, releasing its first Suntory White Label in 1929, the resulting popularity of which saw the firm renamed after it 1963. Expansion in the next decade saw the company move its grain production to a new Chita distillery in 1972, and open a second malt distillery, Hakushu, the following year. Suntory today has a large stake in both the bourbon and Scotch whisky industry, but remains at the forefront of its native whisky market too.
€320Original price was: €320.€280Current price is: €280.
The pictures are from the actual bottle frond, if you’d like more detailed photos just get in touch!
Suntory Royal 72cl
A Japanese blend from Suntory, originally launched to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the company.
Suntory are one of the founding fathers of Japanese whisky, established by Shinjirō Torii in 1899 as a wine store in Osaka. The venture was hugely successful, and the company was renamed Kotobukiya in 1921, which built its first distillery three years later, Yamazaki. The distillery produced both malt and grain whiskies which the company blended together, releasing its first Suntory White Label in 1929, the resulting popularity of which saw the firm renamed after it 1963. Expansion in the next decade saw the company move its grain production to a new Chita distillery in 1972, and open a second malt distillery, Hakushu, the following year. Suntory today has a large stake in both the bourbon and Scotch whisky industry, but remains at the forefront of its native whisky market too.
Colour: Bright gold. This is an inference based on the expression’s established style and presentation.
Nose: Good body with plenty of nut oils and zest, a pleasant floral character, with a little tropical fruit and a rooty note. This is supported by the reviewed tasting note.
Palate: Smooth and soft, with good sweetness and winter spice, followed by lovely citrus and more tropical fruit with a little rum. This is supported by the reviewed tasting note.
Finish: Medium, with fruit and zest. This is supported by the reviewed tasting note.
€220Original price was: €220.€195Current price is: €195.
Tasting Notes
Colour: Bright gold. This is an inference based on the whisky’s style and the standard presentation of the expression.
Nose: Good body with plenty of nut oils and zest, a pleasant floral character with a little tropical fruit and a rooty note. This is supported by your site’s tasting note.
Palate: Smooth and soft with good sweetness and winter spice. A lovely citrus note develops with more tropical fruit notes and a little rum. This is supported by your site’s tasting note.
Finish: Medium with fruit and zest. This is supported by your site’s tasting note.
€1,150Original price was: €1,150.€990Current price is: €990.
Tasting Notes
Colour: Deep amber. This is an inference based on the heavy sherry butt influence described on your site.
Nose: Rich fruit, silky malt, and a gentle touch of smoke. This is supported by your site description of the expression.
Palate: Smooth and complex, with sherried richness, mature fruit, oak, and a rounded malt texture. This is supported in part by your site description and in part inferred from the cask mix given on your site.
Finish: Long, elegant, and softly smoky, with lingering fruit and oak spice. This is an inference based on your site description of the whisky’s balance and style.
€1,150Original price was: €1,150.€990Current price is: €990.
Tasting Notes
Colour: Deep amber. This is an inference based on the heavy sherry butt influence described on your site.
Nose: Rich fruit, silky malt, and a gentle touch of smoke. This is supported by your site description of the expression.
Palate: Smooth and complex, with sherried richness, mature fruit, oak, and a rounded malt texture. This is supported in part by your site description and in part inferred from the cask mix given on your site.
Finish: Long, elegant, and softly smoky, with lingering fruit and oak spice. This is an inference based on your site description of the whisky’s balance and style.
Colour: Deep amber. This is supported by the listed tasting profile for the expression.
Nose: The richness of sherry and raisins fills the nose, followed by dark rich maraschino cherries and coffee cream chocolate. This is supported by the producer’s tasting notes shown on your site.
Palate: Full-bodied malt, with a rich bittersweet style showing honey, toffee apples, plum wine, black pepper, and marmalade-led fruit. This combines the tasting note shown on your site with the broader flavour profile associated with the expression.
Finish: Long, fruity, and marmalade-led. This is supported by the tasting note shown on your site.
Colour: Deep gold. This is an inference based on the cask mix and product presentation, as no formal colour note is stated on your site.
Nose: Classic Yamazaki strawberries and dried fruits with floral notes from the Mizunara cask whisky, plus fragrant sandalwood and maybe coconut. This is supported by your site tasting note.
Palate: Dried berries remain lively, with raspberry notes, light oak, white peach, and a small amount of spice. This is supported by your site tasting note.
Finish: Vanilla lasts and lasts, with spicy but sweet cinnamon as a final flourish. This is supported by your site tasting note.
€499Original price was: €499.€440Current price is: €440.
Tasting Notes
Colour: Deep gold to amber. This is an inference based on the whisky’s vintage blended style and reviewed bottle imagery, as no formal colour note was stated in the reviewed sources.
Nose: Fruity, floral, caramel-led, and softly sweet, with brown sugar aromatics. This is supported by the reviewed tasting note describing fruity, floral, caramel, and sweet brown sugar aromas.
Palate: Nicely light, with butter, biscuits, light spices, Christmas cake, and raisins. This is supported by the reviewed tasting note.
Finish: Short to medium, with berries, light spices, cinnamon, and nuts. This is supported by the reviewed tasting note.
