The Yamazaki 18 Year Mizunara 100th Anniversary Limited Edition

The Yamazaki 18 Year Mizunara 100th Anniversary Limited Edition is a centenary release from Japan's oldest malt whisky distillery — the Yamazaki Distillery, established by Suntory founder Shinjiro Torii in 1923 — presenting 18 years of maturation exclusively in Mizunara Japanese oak casks to mark the distillery's 100th anniversary with the most technically ambitious single-cask-type expression Suntory produces.

The 100th anniversary (1923–2023) warranted the rarest and most distinctly Japanese presentation possible: exclusive Mizunara oak aging. Mizunara (Quercus mongolica) grows only in Hokkaido and requires over 200 years to reach barrel-making size — it is the scarcest cooperage wood in whisky production, and its unique chemical composition produces the incense, sandalwood, and coconut character that has no equivalent in American or European oak. Most Yamazaki expressions use Mizunara as one component among several cask types; the 100th Anniversary uses it exclusively across 18 years of maturation, producing a whisky where the Japanese oak character is at maximum intensity and integration. The result — the reddish amber color, dark cherry and peach nose, Japanese incense and sandalwood on the palate, and clove and dried coconut finish — represents the fullest possible expression of what Mizunara oak does to Yamazaki malt spirit over nearly two decades.

Tasting Notes

• Color: Rich reddish amber — the Mizunara's characteristic hue at 18 years
• Nose: Dark cherry, ripe peach, cinnamon, and nutmeg — the Mizunara-only character at full depth
• Palate: Subtly spiced with Japanese incense and sandalwood undertones — the Mizunara's signature through 18 years of integration
• Finish: Long — clove, sandalwood, and dried coconut persisting through an elegant close

Specs

• Distillery: Yamazaki Distillery, Shimamoto, Osaka Prefecture, Japan (est. 1923)
• Style: Single Malt Japanese Whisky — Centenary Limited Edition
• Occasion: Yamazaki Distillery 100th Anniversary (1923–2023)
• Age: 18 years
• Casks: Exclusively Mizunara Japanese oak
• Size: 700ml

Browse all Japanese whisky at Wooden Cork.