Yamazaki Single Malt Distillers Reserve

Recently, I got the chance to get hold of a Yamazaki Single Malt Distillers Reserve from the Yamazaki Distiller (山崎蒸溜所). The Award Winning Yamazaki distiller produced this distiller reserve with a beautiful light golden color that's smooth and easy on the palate. One of two Distiller's Reserve single malt whiskies from Suntory, it is smooth, with the classic Yamazaki strawberries and dried fruits notes from the Mizunara cask, I got attracted to it because of the fragrant sandalwood scent which I like a lot.

It has a light oak with a light amount of spice on the palate that just encourages you to take a bit more. It is faint but there's also the berry notes from the Bordeaux wine casks and Sherry casks it matured in. I was told that there's a nice vanilla finish to the whiskey but personally, it was the spicy but sweet cinnamon that got me. I like a finish that doesn't linger too long, especially when you're drinking it after meals. It only got 3/5 from me as I still couldn't identify the vanilla finish that I was told about. It's not the whiskey's fault, it's mine.

Recently, due to the demands on the whiskey, the price has started to go up as collectors start to stock up on the drink. A well put together and deep dram with limited stock around the world, some people are treating it like liquid gold and is willing to pay some top dollars for the whiskey. That's why you see only 3/5 in my price ranking as it's costing more now than when I first got hold of the bottles.

Spoke to a few bar owners in Kuala Lumpur and the story is the same, stocks of Yamazaki enters the premise and be sure to see them fly off the shelves within hours if not days. Even friends visiting Japan is sharing the same story with me when I ask them to help me stock up on Yamazakis and Hibikis.

Guess the only thing I should do for now is to take my own sweet time with the bottles I still have and enjoy them as much as I could while the whole world hunts for them.