Japanese Whisky: Yamazaki 55
Updated: Jan 4
Last year, in the early months of 2020, right before the coronavirus pandemic hit Tokyo City with everything it’s got, Beam Suntory announced that it was going to release a phenomenal expression in the middle of the year: A Yamazaki 55 at 46% ABV, which is the oldest Japanese whisky to ever hit the market. Unfortunately, that “advance reveal” was only intended for residents of Japan, and only 100 bottles were produced, complete with engraved calligraphy making use of sandblasting techniques, featuring genuine gold dust, and real lacquer—all of which were available only by way of lottery for the nifty sum of $27,000
Fortunately enough, you will have the pleasure of tasting Yamazaki 55 with our beautiful Tokyo escorts, which is a blend of three exceptional single malts from the 1960s: Shinjiro Torii—Yamazaki’s founder—distilled the first stream in the dawn of the ’60s and partially aged it in mizunara oak, a deciduous oak strain that’s endemic to Northeast Asia. The second and third streams, by comparison, were distilled in 1961 and 1964 under the supervision of Suntory’s second master blender Keizo Saji—both of which were aged in American white oak. These three expressions were then picked and blended by chief blender Shinji Fukuyo in collaboration with Shinjiro Torri’s grandson—the third-generation master blender Shingo Torii.