Yamazaki 18 Year Old – 70cl

Yamazaki 18 Year Old is the bottle that made the wider world take Japanese single malt seriously — matured predominantly in sherry casks at Suntory's Yamazaki distillery outside Kyoto, and bottled at 43%. It is deep, sherried and unmistakably itself.

Yamazaki was Japan's first commercial malt distillery, founded in 1923 by Shinjiro Torii in the Vale of Yamazaki, where three rivers meet and the soft water and humid air were chosen with maturation in mind. The 18 Year Old draws on three cask types — Spanish sherry butts making up the majority, American oak, and Japan's own rare Mizunara oak, prized for the sandalwood-and-incense character it lends only with long age. Eighteen years lets them settle into one another.

The nose is rich and sherried: raisin, dark cherry and coffee-cream chocolate, with a thread of Japanese incense running underneath. The palate is velvety — plum and caramelised nuts, dark chocolate and orange, subtle oak spice, and that signature whisper of Mizunara sandalwood. The finish is long, warming and gently spiced, dried fruit and elegant oak lingering well after the glass is down. It's already fully expressive neat; a drop of water is optional rather than necessary, and there's no case for ice.

This is a whisky for the end of the evening and the top of the shelf — a milestone bottle, a serious gift, and a pour to hand someone who's convinced they don't like whisky.

How to Serve

Neat in a Glencairn or tulip glass, given a few minutes to open. It needs no water, though a drop won't hurt. Skip the ice.

Where to Drink It

Artesian at The Langham — a landmark bar for a landmark malt. Scarfes Bar, Rosewood — deep shelves and a fire to enjoy it by. The Connaught Bar — Mayfair polish for a special pour.

Food Pairings

Aged Manchego or Comté. Roast venison or duck. A square of dark chocolate, 70% or above.