2022 Suntory Yamazaki Spanish Oak Single Malt Whisky 750ml

The 2022 Yamazaki Spanish Oak Edition is one of the most coveted Japanese whisky releases of its year, a limited-edition single malt from Suntory's Tsukuriwake Selection. Tsukuriwake, meaning artisanship through a diversity of making, is the guiding philosophy behind this series, which isolates the foundational pillars of the Yamazaki house style — Puncheon, Peated Malt, Mizunara, and this bottling, Spanish Oak — so each cask type can be experienced on its own terms.

Where the flagship Yamazaki 12 Year blends multiple cask influences, the Spanish Oak Edition is drawn from malt whiskies matured entirely in Spanish oak casks coopered from wood sourced in northern Spain. The result is a rich, decadent expression bottled at 48% ABV (96 proof): an aroma of dried raisins, prunes, and sun-dried tomato gives way to a deep, sherried palate with subtle acidity and fruity lift, closing on a buttery finish with a faint, elegant bitterness.

Yamazaki holds a singular place in whisky history as Japan's first malt whisky distillery, founded in 1923 by Shinjiro Torii on the outskirts of Kyoto. Torii chose the Vale of Yamazaki for its famously soft waters and the misty convergence of three rivers — conditions he believed ideal for maturation. A century on, the distillery remains the spiritual home of Japanese single malt and the benchmark against which the category is measured.

First launched in Japan in 2020 and brought to the United States in 2022, the Tsukuriwake Selection was produced in strictly limited quantities and disappeared from allocation almost immediately. For collectors of Japanese whisky, the Spanish Oak Edition stands out as a rare chance to taste a single facet of Yamazaki's cask program in isolation — a bottle equally suited to the cabinet or a landmark pour.

• Size: 750ml
• ABV: 48% (96 proof)
• Age or Class: No age statement
• Origin: Japan
• Distillery: Yamazaki Distillery, founded 1923, outskirts of Kyoto
• Style/Class: Japanese Single Malt Whisky
• Composition: 100% malted barley
• Cask/Aging: Matured entirely in Spanish oak casks from northern Spain
• Series/Edition: Tsukuriwake Selection 2022 Limited Edition
• Tasting Notes: Dried raisin, prune, and sun-dried tomato aromas; rich, decadent palate with subtle acidity; buttery finish with a hint of bitterness