{"title":"Yamazaki","description":"\u003cp\u003eSuntory built Yamazaki in 1923 where the Katsura, Uji and Kizu meet outside Kyoto — Japan's first malt whisky distillery. Shinjiro Torii chose the site for its water, prized long before he arrived: Japan's environment ministry now lists it among the country's hundred finest. Torii wanted a whisky for the Japanese palate rather than a copy of Scotch, and brought in Masataka Taketsuru — who had studied chemistry at Glasgow and learned distilling in Scottish distilleries, and married a Scot — to run the distillery from 1924. Taketsuru left a decade later to found Nikka.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA rebuild in the late 1980s gave Yamazaki wooden and stainless washbacks and a variety of still configurations, so that one site could produce an unusual range of malt styles. Maturation runs across American, Spanish and Japanese oak, including scarce mizunara.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIts standing turned global in late 2014, when the Sherry Cask 2013 was named world whisky of the year in the following year's Whisky Bible — the first Japanese whisky to take the title. Demand for aged Japanese stock has outstripped supply ever since.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe bottles behind that reputation are the oldest the distillery has released. The 55 Year Old took the world auction record for a Japanese whisky at Bonhams in Hong Kong in August 2020, at HK$6.2 million. A 50 Year Old sold at Bonhams in May 2026 for HK$8.25 million.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"yamazaki-suntory-single-malt-18yo-10242986","title":"Yamazaki (Suntory), Single Malt 18YO","description":"Colour - Deep Amber\u003cbr\u003eNose - Raisin, apricot, cafe au lait, Mizunara (Japanese oak)\u003cbr\u003ePalate - Blackberry, strawberry jam, dark chocolate\u003cbr\u003eFinish - Long, spicy, smooth","brand":"Yamazaki (Suntory)","offers":[{"title":"1x70cl","offer_id":54547029098838,"sku":"SE10242986-1-IB-13973579","price":420.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"6x70cl","offer_id":54824383250774,"sku":"SE10242986-6-IB-14240692","price":2521.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1039\/7355\/2470\/files\/890f21728d879d2c6fced955b576d0b1.png?v=1784041855"},{"product_id":"yamazaki-suntory-single-malt-mizunara-japanese-oak-cask-18yo-bottled-2025-10545124","title":"Yamazaki (Suntory), Single Malt Mizunara Japanese Oak Cask 18YO Bottled 2025","description":"","brand":"Yamazaki (Suntory)","offers":[{"title":"1x70cl","offer_id":54547321028950,"sku":"SE10545124-1-IB-13397752","price":961.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1039\/7355\/2470\/files\/2b86a17344bcd8803c36197f5a228cad.png?v=1784044266"},{"product_id":"yamazaki-suntory-pure-malt-12yo-10405380","title":"Yamazaki (Suntory), Pure Malt 12YO","description":"","brand":"Yamazaki (Suntory)","offers":[{"title":"1x70cl","offer_id":54696992244054,"sku":"SE10405380-1-DP-14100216","price":85.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"6x70cl","offer_id":54772194804054,"sku":"SE10405380-6-DP-14098407","price":510.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1039\/7355\/2470\/files\/eafbe063dc6a23c940f2724885ca797b.png?v=1784623809"},{"product_id":"yamazaki-suntory-single-malt-50yo-first-release-10618640","title":"Yamazaki (Suntory), Single Malt 50YO, first release","description":"- The 2005 First Release is the original 50YO Yamazaki and is considered the most important and collectible of the three 50YO editions.\u003cbr\u003e- Production at 50 btls is extremely limited, and very few bottles appear on the market now, especially compared with later releases (only auctioned once).\u003cbr\u003e- This bottle sits at the very top of Japanese whisky collectability","brand":"Yamazaki (Suntory)","offers":[{"title":"1x70cl","offer_id":54696992866646,"sku":"SE10618640-1-DP-14195443","price":275000.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1039\/7355\/2470\/files\/b487de4c3c30147a97d6ab9c47d5648c.png?v=1784623833"}],"url":"https:\/\/dittonwineandspirits.com\/collections\/yamazaki.oembed","provider":"Ditton Wine \u0026 Spirits","version":"1.0","type":"link"}