Nose - lemon, grapefruit, apricot, fig, floral and fungal notes, cinnamon, honey, vanilla, toffee, white wine, earthy mint, walnut, milk chocolate, white pepper, orange, mild to moderate ethanol burn.
Taste - grapefruit zest, lemon, fig, apricot, plum, ginger, light caramel, honey, vanilla, floral notes, buttery cinnamon, orange, mint, chili pepper, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium short with citrus zest, honeyed fruits, and floral flavors.
Before I knew anything about whisky, I knew that Pappy Van Winkle and Yamazaki were fancy. So a year ago when I saw that a few Virginia ABC stores near me had some in stock for the screaming deal of $113 a bottle, I snagged one. What a colossal waste of money that was. And still there are people torching over $200 for the opportunity to buy a bottle.
The nose is light, citrusy, floral, and a tad fungal. Some of those sherried and honeyed fruit aromas come through as well, but it’s generally mild, pleasant, and frankly boring. The palate is about the same. A pinprick of mint, ginger, and pepper add some intrigue, but it’s mostly more floral, honey, and citrus flavors from the mid palate through to the short, underwhelming finish.
Here’s the thing. It’s not bad whisky. It would actually be pretty decent whisky at $30 or even $40 a bottle. But this comes in at well over $100 in most markets, and there’s zero value to be found at that price. If you’re new to whisky and enamored by the mystique of Yamazaki, don’t make the same mistake I did. If you want a good Japanese whisky without breaking the bank, buy a bottle of Nikka from the Barrel and you’ll get a much better bang for your buck. I’m sure there are other good Japanese whisky values, but they’re few and far between in my experience. If you really want to try the Yamazaki, order it at a bar for a nominal fee and raise a toast to making good financial decisions.
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@Scott_E I will probably still open this for the experience; batch variation is real so I will hope for a winner. I will compare to Nikka WFTB which is one of my all time favorites.
@ctbeck11 bounces between $99 and $125. Almost purchased a few years ago. Decided not to after reading mixed reviews.
@Scott_E Wow, I’ve never seen it below the price I paid. Still not worth it at $99, but at least the price has the right number of digits.
@DjangoJohnson Thanks! Happy to share my mistakes so others hopefully don’t make the same ones.
@Skymecca Oof! That’s an expensive lesson to learn. And the fact that the perennially overpriced Blue Label was significantly better is like throwing salt in the wound.
I have seen this on occasion locally for $99. I haven’t the desire to spend my wife’s money. I agree totally, Nikka is a nice pour and can be found at a fair price.
@angstrom trade it in for 2 Ardbeg 10s, or 1 Springbank 12 cs
Yes. Thanks for letting me know this isn’t worth the price of admission. This is a super helpful review in that sense.
You all are psyching me out. I got a bottle for $130 two months ago and thought myself quite lucky. Was going to open it after the new year. Maybe I should trade it for something else rare.
@ctbeck11 i had this before the Japanese boom, about 9 years ago. Bought a bottle for $40. Interestingly, I just checked my review…also 3 stars , from 2015. You get a HUGE step up when you go to the 18.
@Skymecca That's downright tragic :(
I was visiting a friend in Chicago that doesn't know a ton about whisky, but he wanted to surprise his guests with a nice bottle. He bought this Yamazaki 12 for $250. I was mortified that someone advised him to waste that kind of cash on this, which basically tastes like Compass Box Spice Tree with a 4X premium for the Japanese characters. I myself bought two of these at $140 each and regret the hell out of it. As you say, it isn't bad, just not worth anywhere near what they're charging for it. To finish the story, I dutifully had a glass along with a few other relative novices. No one was blown away. The saddest part - everyone tried the much maligned Johnnie Walker Blue and it torched the Yamazaki 12. That was just sad.