Yamazaki first opened way back in 1923, and is found between Osaka and Kyoto. The two godfathers of Japanese whisky, Masataka Taketsuru, and Shinjiro Torii, collaborated on the building of the distillery. Later, Taketsuru and Torii would later be rivals, when Taketsuru left Torii’s company to create Nikka Whisky Co, and whilst Torii’s operation became the juggernaut of Japanese whisky, Suntory.  

Yamazaki’s location was picked out partly due to the quality of its water, which was praised by the great tea-master Sen no Rikyu, who established his teahouse in the area. The climate here – with hot summers and cool winters –  is favourable for the maturation of whisky. 

Yamazaki is one of Suntory’s two major malt whisky distilleries, alongside Yoichi (which produces a peatier spirit). The distillery itself is strikingly versatile, using 12 stills of different kinds to create a wide range of spirit. Due to the effective duopoly of Japanese whisky, there is very little swapping of spirit between distillers (unlike in Scotland) meaning that each distillery needs to be able to make whisky of different styles for blending purposes. 

Yamazaki Distiller’s Reserve is a testament to the quality of the distillery, and the strength of Japanese whisky at large.