Having been a fan of yamazaki 12 for a while, I knew I had to try the legendary 18. I mean, very rarely do two whiskies form so much cult of legend that their distillery has to announce them both out of production while still being very much in production. Upon getting the chance, here are my thoughts from what I can see of my notes and remember from the moment: On the nose: Fruit Stone fruit Grass Oak Japanese oak Tonic Smokey cream Vanilla and honey notes On the pallet: Much the same as above, pears, stone fruit, some peppery smoke (mildly peaty), cream and vanilla. Lots of oak and some sherry notes. Long finish, rich ethenol, almost no burn. Basically, it’s the yamazaki 12 amped up to 100. It’s very oak and wood forward, very fruity with some Peat in there for food measure. Now, is it worth the £800 a bottle? Absolutely not. But, it’s interesting and if you get a chance to try it. You won’t be disappointed.