Yamazaki 50 Year Old

Yamazaki 50

Was impressed to see the Yamazaki 50 year old was launched this week. At 1million Yen a bottle it is pretty expensive (roughly £5000 a bottle) The thing is there was only 50 bottles of this produced so I would imagine that it is probably worth it! Ok ok no whisky is worth that but if I had five grand and i had to spend it on one bottle it would be this one! Why because all the 50 bottles sold out in two hours and these are bound to soar in value very quickly.

The thing is though I love Yamazaki they have produced some great whiskies and us westerners are just beginning to catch on! I was privaledged enough to visit Japan last year and got the chance to go to Yamazaki, what an amazing distillery - believe me they could make any style of whisky they want there. They have tall still, short stills, fat stills etc etc even a still in the shape of a wigwam which I am particularly intrigued by.

The thing is that us Scots used to think we were invincible when it came to whisky - ok there is American stuff (I love a lot of it) but it is generally very different to Scotch (Christ i hate that word - Scotch!) where as a lot of the Japanese stuff is more like scotch but most importantly it is bloody good whisky.

Ok this 50yo is way way way out of my price league but you can guarantee that it will be an excellent whisky. Would love to say that I would add some tasting notes but it is never going to happen!!!

But that said I have not had a whisky from Yamazaki that I don't like. A lot of people think that Japanese whisky is a new thing this 50 proves not. Yamazaki was founder over 80 years ago something like 1923 (in fact it was 1923) but when you visit the distillery you could be any where in Scotland. I get the feeling that Single Malt Scotch Whisky may have to worry about Japanese whisky if people actually paid attention - but in away Single malts are lucky by the fact that most people know feck all - they all say - oh i don't drink blends, or i stopped drinking blends 10 years ago or those people that refuse to drink anything that is not single malt. Basically i think these people are all full of crap. To know whisky all you need to know is that you like something
or you don't. If you like it great!!! If not move on to something else.

Ok so this started of as Yamazaki 50 you (which i hope to try some day - i have tried 40yo which was sublime from a Japanese oak cask) but it started out as my wee rant against whisky snobs!!

Oh well people who love whisky and flavour will know what I am on about!