The Yamazaki Distillers Reserve 

This single malt from the Yamazaki distillery is jam-packed with superb red berry notes, gained from the whisky being matured in Bordeaux wine casks and Sherry casks. It also features malt matured in Mizunara casks, adding subtle fragrant oak notes. Released in Spring 2014, this is one of two Distiller's Reserve single malt whiskies from Suntory in Japan

Yamazaki Distillery

Yamazaki is the pioneer of Japanese single malt whisky, born i Japan's first and oldest malt distillery. Establieshed in 1923by Suntory's founder Shinjiro Torii the Yamazaki Distillery is the birth place of Japanese whisky. Nestled proudly in the periphery of Kyoto in a  region formerly known as "Minaseno" the distillery is renowned for its soft waters. 

 The company founder and chairman of Kotobukiya (the predecessor company of Suntory) wanted to produce a serious whisky and therefore hired Taketsuru Masataka, whom he appointed factory director of the Yamazaki distillery in 1924. This descendant of a sake brewing family from the 17th century was in Scotland in 1918. He traveled to study at Glasgow University and learned how to make Scotch whisky on site. He married a Scottish girl, Jessie Roberta "Rita" Cowan, who moved to Japan with him in 1920. Under Taketsuru the production of the first whisky was completed in 1929, which was sold as shirofuda. Due to differences with Torii, Taketsuru left the company in 1934 and founded the Daju-Nippon Kaju KK company , later called Nikka WHisky Destilling in Hokkaido in the same year.