Yamazaki Distiller's Reserve

Pouring a dram of Yamazaki Distillers Reserve is like opening the door to an incense-filled temple, as you lose yourself for a moment in the fragrant mist…

Yamazaki Distiller’s Reserve is a triple-wood, combining elements of their famous single-malt that have been aged in their signature Mizunara barrels with classic Sherry and Bordeaux wine casks. The result is a fruit-forward, smooth, easy-drinking single-malt with all the quality and character of some of the most expensive super-premiums.

Great chefs will tell you that the way a food smells is most important. We have five kinds of tastebuds, but we can detect ten basic scents, and it is the combination of these two senses that give us awesome mmmm or ewwww! Yamazaki Distiller’s Reserve starts with that wonderful aroma, and you get a recharge every time the glass passes under your nose on its way to your mouth. I think that’s is the secret here… this is a great Whisky with an amazing aroma and the combination is single-malt dynamite. All I can say is, “Domo… domo arigato Yamasaki sensei.”

Smartass Corner:
Mizunara is a type of Japanese Oak that is wonderful for imparting a floral-vanilla aroma and flavor to Whiskey, but it sucks for barrel-making, being softer and more porous than American or French oak. They can leak or even completely fall apart during longer aging. So Yamazaki Whiskeys do the bulk of their time in traditional imported Bourbon, Sherry, and Wine casks and are “finished” with shorter agings in Mizunara.