Liquid Gold

Each of the four pillars of Yamazaki whisky has been bottled separately, giving fans deeper insights into the making of this legendary Japanese single malt

The 1984 formulation of the original Yamazaki 12-Year-Old single malt whisky has always been a closely guarded secret, but fans can now get a taste of its concept of Tsukuriwake, which roughly translates as “artisanship through a diversity of making”.

This August, the House of Suntory released the 2022 Yamazaki Limited Edition Tsukuriwake Selection, comprising bottlings of the four foundational pillars of Yamazaki whisky: Puncheon, Peated Malt, Spanish Oak and Mizunara. Tsukuriwake, says a Suntory spokesperson, is one of the main reasons why Yamazaki is such a beloved and sought-after whisky, adding that “innovation in Japanese whisky is known to occur at the back end—in maturation or blending—but few understand the diversity of the whisky components that [is needed] to achieve this depth and gravitas.”

At Suntory, the Tsukuriwake approach brings together multiple components—such as non-peated and peated malt and grain varieties, two types of washbacks, eight pairs with various shapes of pot stills, and maturation in four different oak casks (French, Spanish, Japanese and American)—to create the diversity required for a single malt of great complexity and longevity.