Yamazaki 10 Year Old

What it is

The entry age statement in the Yamazaki single malt range, discontinued in the early 2010s as Suntory's stock came under pressure and demand for Japanese whisky began climbing. Everything on the market now is old stock.

Where it comes from

Yamazaki, near Kyoto, opened in 1923 as the first malt distillery in Japan, built by Shinjiro Torii with Masataka Taketsuru overseeing the work. Suntory has since confirmed that all its exported whisky is 100% distilled, matured and bottled in Japan and that Yamazaki meets the Japan Spirits and Liqueurs Makers Association standard. But that standard came into force in 2021, years after the 10 was discontinued, so no bottle was ever formally assessed. Being a single malt from a single distillery, there was never much question about it.

How it's made

Yamazaki runs an unusually varied still house, with pot stills of different shapes and sizes producing a wide spread of distillate before cask type is even considered. The range is built on American oak, Spanish oak and Japanese mizunara, though Suntory never published a breakdown for the 10. At ten years old the mizunara component would have contributed very little, since Japanese oak takes decades to give anything up.

What to expect

Lighter and simpler than the 12, with orchard fruit, honey and a gentle oak character. It was always the everyday Yamazaki rather than the special one. Bear in mind these bottles are now well over a decade old, so storage matters, and the price has nothing to do with what it originally cost.

How it compares

Against Yamazaki 12, the 12 has more depth, more sherry and a cleaner finish, and it's still made. Against Yamazaki Distiller's Reserve, which effectively replaced the 10 at the bottom of the range, the DR is fruitier and more wine-cask driven. Against the discontinued Hibiki 12, both are relics of the pre-boom era and both now trade on scarcity.