Old is Gold

As Suntory's Yamazaki Distillery turns 100 this year, the Japanese beverage giant is focusing on the craftsmanship of whisky-making and ramping up production to meet an insatiable demand.

- KENNETHSZ GOH

A still silence hangs over the sprawling ageing room, with rows of about 2,000 whisky casks neatly stacked on top of each other. Rays of sunshine filter in from the doors of the naturally ventilated warehouse that open up to a surrounding verdant forest. In the casks lie whiskies that have been matured for decades, soaking up the bouquet of fruity and spicy notes from the casks made from American, Spanish, and Mizunara oak.

I am at Yamazaki Distillery in Shimamoto, Osaka Prefecture, which is the oldest single malt distillery in Japan — started in 1923. Armed with a fervent aspiration to develop a whisky suited to the Japanese palate, Suntory’s founder, Shinjiro Torii, famously stated: “I want to create a perfect whisky that reflects the nature of Japan and the spirit of Japanese craftsmanship.” A century later, this conviction rings true, with the Japanese beverage giant becoming synonymous with its flagship Yamazaki, a single malt whisky that is layered with fruit-forward and Mizunara oak notes.

Marking its centennial year of whisky-making, Suntory will roll out four limited edition versions of its iconic whiskies this month. One of them is a special edition of the Yamazaki Mizunara 18, a blend of malt whiskies  that are aged for at least 18 years in Mizunara oak casks. The oak enhances the flavour of the whisky by imparting a mellow, spicy flavour and incense-like notes of sandalwood and agarwood.