The Yamazaki 55 Year Old Japanese Whisky

Touched by the hand of House of Suntory founder Shinjiro Torii, Yamazaki 55 reaches out across time.  A spiritual blend highlighting Mizunara cask whisky distilled in 1960 under the supervision of Shinjiro Torii and White Oak cask whisky distilled in 1964. Each matured, amber drop reveals a complex and mystical Yamazaki-ness the world has yet to discover. Yamazaki 55 is the House of Suntory’s tribute to the passage of time.

Fifth Generation Chief Blender Shinji Fukuyo believes there are both young and late bloomers. The House of Suntory has always believed that like people, each whisky has its own narrative. Each whisky celebrates its own peak regardless of age. With Yamazaki 55, Fukuyo faced a challenge confronting the complexity of working with rare old whiskies. When he acknowledged imperfections in the casks of 1964, the challenge was to enhance the potential of these late bloomers, to unveil a Yamazaki-ness not known before. Fukuyo worked closely at hand with Shingo Torii, Third Generation Master Blender, to find the right creative alchemy and master the signature art of blending to properly reveal the particular depth, complexity and wisdom that is Yamazaki 55. What Fukuyo respected throughout this process was a combination of the passage of time and what the Japanese refer to as Wabisabi – the imperfections that make up perfection.

Yamazaki 55 Year comes in its own custom box made of Japanese Mizunara wood, which is used for the cask in which Yamazaki is aged. The mouth of the bottle is wrapped in layers of ink-black Japanese washi paper strewn with gold flakes and threads. A cord braided carefully from 24 ink-black, gold and silver strands holds the wrapping in place; with its refined appearance, this cord adds an extra dash of elegance to a very special bottle of whisky. Yamazaki 55 comes in a crystal bottle polished to a radiant sheen and is smoothly sculpted with meticulous artistry. The "55" emblazoned on the bottle is decorated with maki-e, the traditional Japanese technique of sprinkling gold powder on lacquerware.