The Yamazaki 25: it took a hundred years to make this 25-year-old
Japan's first malt distillery, three kinds of oak and a quarter of a century in cask. Here is what makes the Yamazaki 25 Year Old special, and why collectors hold on to it.
In 1923 Shinjiro Torii built Japan's first malt whisky distillery in the misty valley of Yamazaki, between Kyoto and Osaka. It was a long bet on a spirit his country had never made. A century on, the oldest whisky in the distillery's core range is released in such small numbers that most bottles are spoken for before they reach a shelf.
The Yamazaki 25 Year Old is that whisky. Every drop has spent at least a quarter of a century in oak, and in 2012 it was named World's Best Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards.
Where it comes from
Yamazaki sits at the foot of Mount Tennozan, where the Katsura, Uji and Kizu rivers meet. Soft water and heavy, humid air are why Torii chose the site, and why casks mature here the way they do. Between Kyoto and Osaka, on Japan's main island of Honshu.
What makes it special
Three oaks. Suntory blends whiskies aged in American oak, Spanish oak and Japanese Mizunara. Mizunara is the rare one: slow-growing, porous and hard to make into casks. It gives the incense and sandalwood notes that set this whisky apart from Scotch.
Time. Nothing in the bottle is younger than 25 years. Stock laid down in the 1990s cannot be hurried or replaced.
Scarcity. Allocations are tiny, and demand keeps growing. In 2024 Suntory more than doubled its list price in Japan.
Tasting notes
Nose: Incense and Mizunara smoke, then ripe persimmon and ume plum.
Palate: Sandalwood first, opening into persimmon sweetness, tart plum and ginger spice.
Finish: Long and deep, with gentle smoke and sweet wood.
Notes follow Suntory's official description.
In the glass
A whisky this old needs nothing added. Give it a minute in the glass, taste it, then try a few drops of water and notice how the fruit and incense open up.
A bottle collectors hold on to
At UK auction the Yamazaki 25 now changes hands for about 2.8 times what it did in 2015, an average rise of roughly 9% a year. In Japan, Suntory more than doubled its list price in 2024.
Based on UK auction averages from Whisky Returns, February 2015 to September 2026. Values are below their 2022 peak, and past performance is no guide to the future. Whisky is not a regulated investment.
The makers
1899: A wine shop in Osaka. Shinjiro Torii, aged 20, opens a shop selling wine. The business grows into Suntory.
1923: Japan's first malt distillery. Torii starts building Yamazaki and hires Masataka Taketsuru, who trained in Scotland, to run it. Taketsuru later founds rival Nikka.
1929: The first whisky. Suntory Shirofuda, or White Label, goes on sale. Sales are slow at first.
1984: The Yamazaki single malt. Suntory launches The Yamazaki as a 12-year-old, its first single malt.
2012: World's Best Single Malt. The 25 Year Old takes the top single malt prize at the World Whiskies Awards.
Enquire about the Yamazaki 25
Stock is extremely limited and priced on application. Add it to your enquiry, and a person will reply. Please drink responsibly. Over-18s only.
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