Yamazaki 55 Year Old Surfaces From Suntory In Japan

There are rare bottles of Japanese whisky, and then there are rare bottles of Japanese whisky. It is to this latter that Suntory has turned to via its Yamazaki distillery, debuting a very limited and super high end 55 year old whisky.

The new Yamazaki 55 Year Old, according to those behind it, is blended from a combination of whiskies that were (1) distilled in 1960/aged in Mizunara oak and (2) distilled in 1964/aged in white oak. It was bottled at 46% ABV and is limited to a 100 bottle release.

As is the case with a top flight whisky like this, the packaging is of note as well. The calligraphy letter “Yamazaki” was carved into the crystal bottles holding this expression one by one, and gold and lacquer were applied to the year display part. The mouth is wrapped in handmade Echizen Japanese paper and tied with a braid that is a traditional craft of Kyoto. Each bottle is housed in a special wooden box made of Japanese mizunara wood with Suruga lacquer.

The plan for release of the Yamazaki 55 Year Old, which is pricing at 3,000,000 yen, or around $27,550 USD, is to make it available to purchase through a lottery system that will be open for entry between February 5th and February 14th. Limited to those living in Japan only, the winner, after purchase on or after June 30th, can have their whisky delivered to them in Japan only as well. Interestingly, winners will have their name printed directly onto it also.