Tonight, my friends and I are going to have one of our much anticipated “scotch nights,” where we each bring a bottle to share with the group. I’ve long had my eye on the Suntory Yamazaki (by the way, best age restriction check in the world), whisky produced by Suntory in Japan, and our scotch night is a great time to introduce it to the group. I’ve never had it and part of me wonders if my mind returned to it because of the recent earthquake but after hearing Richard Paterson’s warm words about it in his 40 Years, 40 Whiskies series, I wanted to give it a try.

I’m eager to find out which other whiskies will be in attendance but Japan will be well represented. Given the budget of the group, we’ll be going with the 12yo. I think it’ll be interesting to see how aging in three different types of oak barrels (American, Spanish, and Japanese oak) will affect the spirit.

Here are it’s official tasting notes: “This is a medium-bodied whisky with the aromas of dried fruits and honey. It has a delicate, mellow taste with a lingering, woody, dry finish.” It doesn’t sound much different than your classic Speyside or Highland, so we’ll see!

Here’s what Richard Paterson said of Suntory Yamazaki:

High praise from the Master Blender of Whyte & Mackay.