Yamazaki Tsukuriwake 2024 18 Years Old Mizunara 48% NV

Professional reviews

BOW (90)

Yamazaki Mizunara Aged 18 Years

After years of careful experimentation, our blenders have uncovered the key to the unique qualities of Mizunara casks: time. Extended aging imparts distinct spiciness and introduces notes of sandalwood and aloe to the Yamazaki. The result is a beautifully complex whisky, rich and elegant, where fruit, spice, and wood harmonize to create a sensory experience.

- Color: Reddish amber
- Nose: Rich and elegant with top notes of dark cherry and ripe peach, along with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Palate: Subtly spiced with underlying notes of Japanese incense.
- Finish: Long and lingering, accentuated by clove, sandalwood, and hints of dried coconut.

Serge Valentin (91)

We absolutely adored Suntory’s 2023 version, the ‘100th Anniversary’ (WF 91). I believe this isn’t just a Mizunara finishing like you see almost everywhere else; it’s a full maturation. And like the Hakushu 18 that follows, it’s not 'just 18'; it would also contain older malts. Colour: gold. Nose: beautifully layered with various woods—cedar, sandalwood, spruce, and wild cherry—all seamlessly integrated with honey and a touch of brown sugar. Then come the florals—honeysuckle, mandarin liqueur, Earl Grey, and citron liqueur… It's truly stunning. Mouth: sweet courgette flowers in batter, beeswax, honeyed orange zest, followed by quince cake, a touch of pine bud liqueur, even hints of blackcurrant, mandarin, and oak tree honeydew… Finish: long and even more focused on citrus—marmalade or liqueur—with faint hints of mango chutney. Some thyme tea in the aftertaste, likely from the Mizunara. Comments: a truly exceptional whisky, with an unmistakably Japanese character to the palate. No reason to score it differently from the 2023 edition. The NAS 2022 version wasn’t quite in the same league, so to speak.