Nose: dried dark fruit, vanilla, milk chocolate, earthy. Very balanced. Not one note dominates over the other. Taste: Initial taste is an intense sherry mingling with brine, malt, and dried dark fruit notes. Reminds me of an exceptionally aged port. The texture is thick and oily. Again, very balanced and follows the nose very well. Finish: Intense chocolate and dried fruit (raisin). Follows the nose and palate very well and, once again, very balanced and smooth. Texture is oily and heavy. I could taste each sip for a half-hour. This makes it difficult to drink quickly, but also unnecessary to drink quickly or in high quantity since the taste lingers on the palate for so long. The balanced notes which start at the nose and follow through all the way to the finish offer a complete experience from start to finish, and luckily the finish is the longest I've ever tasted on a whisky. No alcohol burn. If you have the opportunity, try it. Hopefully this will be a reasonable price again at some point.
About this bottle
Released in early 2016, this bottling of Yamazaki Sherry Cask is made from a blend of over 100 malts aged in Oloroso sherry casks. Suntory's Chief Blender, Shinji Fukuyo, oversees every aspect of the casks including the selection of the Spanish oak, charring, and aging of the sherry wine. After three years of aging the sherry, the wine is dumped and the barrels are sent to Japan to age the whisky. Only 5000 bottles of this product will be available worldwide. It is bottled at 48% abv and has no age statement.
How it tastes
Measured across 14 flavor axes. Tap a note to find other bottles that lead with it.
Reviews
Showing the most detailed of 7 parsed reviews.
Like this more than the 2013 edition with its sticky sweet texture but don’t think it’s as good as Hibiki 30 or Hakushu 25. Nose: Figs, Plums, Dates, Luxardo Cherries, Cranberries, Dark Chocolate, Blood Oranges, Honey, Butterscotch, Christmas Cakes, Roses, Gingerbread, Blackberries Palate: Mocha, Dark Chocolate, Raisins, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves, Maple Syrup, Figs, Tobacco, Blood Oranges, Hazlenuts, Cashews, Cinnamon, Papayas, Apricots Finish: Dark Chocolate, Leather, Mocha, Dates, Raspberries, Walnuts, Almonds, Sakura, Roses, Nutmeg
Had a dram of this last night at a local pub. All of the tasting notes out there are pretty indicative of this Yamazaki. Deep and dark sherry with the accompanying chocolate and cherry Coke. I detected no smoke, personally. I also found a very slightly metallic element to the finish--not at all disconcerting, though. At ~$300 I would probably buy this--and that is based purely on quality (not as an investment). For $2000+...I'd wait for something with a little more character and a lot more soul.
absolutely wonderful, but single malts "robustness" has not age quite as smooth as would have liked for best-in-world titled. very impressive.
Very very sherried. Which is great for a sherry lover like me, but it does strip some of the uniquness of yamazaki.
So not worth $2000 a bottle then?
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Tastes like this
Closest flavor profiles across the whole catalog.
