Japan, Osaka. Distillery operational. Owner: Suntory

If ever the Scottish distillery Macallan had an alter ego, it would be Yamazaki. The doyen of Japanese distilleries, Yamazaki has, since the closure of Karuizawa in the early 2000s, dominated the sherry cask maturation scene with its standard bearer The Yamazaki 18 Year Old and the now very rare Yamazaki 25 Year Old. Sherry has become Yamazaki's trademark, with numerous medals and awards recognizing its expertise in and mastery of this style of maturation in demanding latitudes. A large number of small batch versions - such as The Yamazaki Distiller's Sherry Edition 2013, and single casks - such as The Yamazaki Elephant Private Cask 3T70070, have played their part in this. Yamazaki is also renowned for its Mizunara Japanese oak casks, such as The Yamazaki 1986 Owner's Cask 6G5029 and its small batch vintage versions which demonstrate the master blender's skill in marrying casks from different origins (Spain, America, Japan) and different woods (sherry, bourbon, mizunara), such as in The Yamazaki 25 Year Old 1984.

Yamazaki Mizunara 2012 edition stands out for its use of mizunara (Quercus mongolien subsp. crispula), an expensive type of Japanese oak known for being difficult to work with (Mizunara casks are renowned for their tendency to leak), which nonetheless gives the whisky a special character, with notes of spices, precious wood and incense. These editions released in 2012, 2013 and 2020 are now highly sought-after. Yamazaki also released other bottlings that demonstrate the huge breadth of ageing methods used at the distillery, such as bourbon, sherry and puncheon cask maturations, as well as a peated version reserved for the Japanese market.