Yamazaki 18 Year Old Mizunara 2017 Edition

The Yamazaki 18 year old Mizunara 2017 Edition composes of whiskies aged for 18 years or longer in casks made from Mizunara, or Japanese oak, an extremely rare tree, which imparts a dignify oriental flavor that confirms the immense value of these casks. This whisky is the pinnacle of Mizunara-aged single malt whiskies.  “When whisky lovers talk about the grandeur of Japanese whisky, the enlightenment they desire can be within this bottle. Refined luxury is evocative of toasted marshmallows, sweet incense, butter-soft caramels, oak spices, and ground cinnamon. All the hallmarks of Mizunara are here. Concentrated sweet citrus, so intensely fruity on the palate; the mouthfeel is rapturously silky with touches of mango, dried apricot, and gentle but resilient spices.”

This is a 2017 release of the Yamazaki Mizunara – a no-age-statement, single malt Japanese whisky matured in casks made from Mizunara Oak. These special casks impart some beautifully unique hints of sandalwood and fragrant wood, making this whisky a truly singular experience.

Mizunara casks are one of the most rare in creating whiskies. Mizunara casks are more porous than other types of oak. Therefore mizunara wood are also more prone to leaking. Hence, mizunara whiskies aged over 18 years within the legendary casks are the more precious. Some of the whiskies used in this amazing Yamazaki Mizunara 18 years are in excess of 50 years, with the youngest being 18 years of age.

If you look closely, you also see that the paper label on the front is different. The mulberry Echizen paper label on the bottle has been created using traditional Japanese methods. Moreover, the wooden presentation box was created from recycled casks once used to age Suntory whisky.

Mizunara wood is notoriously difficult to work with, and consequently it is very rare to find whisky aged in this type of cask. With many other cask types, whisky usually reaches a maturation peak at some point.