Suntory Tsukuriwake (Yamazaki and Hakushu) Set 2024 - consists of 4 bottles

Volume: 2.8 litres | Alcohol content: 48% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

The Suntory Tsukuriwake Selection 2024 explores how different raw materials, peat influences and cask types shape a single malt's character. The set comprises four separate bottlings: Yamazaki Golden Promise, Yamazaki Islay Peated Malt, Yamazaki Mizunara 18 Year Old and Hakushu Peated Malt 18 Year Old. Each bottle contains 0.7 litres of whisky at 48%, giving a total of 2.8 litres. The whiskies are non-chill-filtered and contain no added colouring. They can be tasted individually and have not been blended into a single bottling.

Golden Promise combines the barley variety of the same name, grown in Scotland since the 1960s, with maturation in American oak casks. This produces a malt-led, rich Yamazaki with sweet fruit and citrus notes. Yamazaki Islay Peated Malt instead focuses on the interplay between Islay peat and Yamazaki's characteristic sweetness. In Yamazaki Mizunara 18 Year Old, prolonged maturation in Japanese Mizunara oak shapes the spicy, fruity and woody profile. Hakushu Peated Malt 18 Year Old offers a different style of smoke: clear smoke combines with herbal and mineral impressions and ripe apple. The two 18-year-old bottlings feature their own limited-edition labels for the 2024 collection, continuing the editions introduced for Suntory's anniversary in 2023.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: Yamazaki Golden Promise offers aromas of sweet malt, vanilla and honey. In Yamazaki Islay Peated Malt, a delicate biscuit note accompanies gentle smoke. Yamazaki Mizunara 18 Year Old reveals dark cherry and ripe peach with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg. Hakushu Peated Malt 18 Year Old combines sage and ripe green apple with a hint of ripe pineapple.
• Palate: Yamazaki Golden Promise is rich and full-bodied, with hints of orange marmalade and custard. Yamazaki Islay Peated Malt tastes smooth and sweet, with brown sugar followed by bitter-orange citrus notes. Yamazaki Mizunara 18 Year Old combines subtly spiced orange notes with Japanese incense. In Hakushu Peated Malt 18 Year Old, layered smoke unfolds alongside herbs, grapefruit and acacia honey.
• Finish: Yamazaki Golden Promise lingers with sweet fruit and citrus notes in a long finish. Yamazaki Islay Peated Malt has a warm, sweet and smoky finish that gradually fades. Yamazaki Mizunara 18 Year Old leaves a long finish of clove, sandalwood and hints of dried coconut. Hakushu Peated Malt 18 Year Old leaves clear smoke and fresh green citrus notes.

Distillery/Bottler:

Suntory's Chief Blender Shinji Fukuyo oversees the Tsukuriwake Selection 2024, featuring single malts from Yamazaki and Hakushu. Tsukuriwake describes the diversity created by different decisions during production. These include the choice of malted barley and peat influence, fermentation in wooden or steel vessels, different pot still shapes and the selection of maturation casks. The blending team then marries suitable whiskies within each individual bottling. All four whiskies in this collection are official distillery bottlings.

Shinjiro Torii founded Yamazaki in 1923 as Japan's first malt whisky distillery. Its location near Kyoto lies at the confluence of the Katsura, Uji and Kizu rivers; soft water and fluctuating temperatures and humidity shape the conditions for production and cask maturation. Keizo Saji founded Hakushu in 1973 in the forests of the Japanese Southern Alps. The distillery stands at an altitude of at least 700 metres and uses soft mountain water. In this cool environment, exclusively wooden fermentation vessels retain heat during fermentation. Different stills and casks also allow a broad range of single malt characters here.

Facts: