Suntory Yamazaki Puncheon Single Malt Japanese Whisky (700ml)

Shinjiro Torii, the founder of the Suntory company, was a pharmaceutical wholesaler importing liquor from the West before he was inspired to create a uniquely Japanese whisky. In 1923 he built the country's first malt whisky distillery (in fact, the first of its kind outside of Scotland) on a site in the Vale of Yamazaki outside Kyoto where pure water, a diverse climate and high humidity made it an ideal environment for whisky production and maturation. To complete the formula, Torii hired Masataka Taketsuru (of Nikka fame) who had studied the art of distilling in Scotland. In 1929, the company introduced Suntory Shirofuda (Japanese for white label), Japan's first genuine domestically produced whisky. Kakubin (square bottle), a premium Japanese whisky, was born in 1937. The whiskies have become more and more sophisticated over the decades, in particular the older bottlings under the Yamazaki label.

Other reviews... Yamazaki’s puncheons contain 480 liters and are made at the distillery’s cooperage from American white oak. The greater size means there are lower levels of oak extract, immediately apparent in the paler hue and more restrained aromas, where flowers mix with the gentle blandness of pear, lychee and, with water, pineapple. Best neat, here is distillery character (or one of the distillery characters, Yamazaki makes many styles) to the fore. Less immediate than the bourbon barrel, but ultimately more rewarding. 87 points - www.maltadvocate.com, (Vol. 21, #4) Reviewed by: Dave Broom