It seems like Suntory's still in a rather celebratory mood over the recent major milestone of its Yamazaki Distillery having hit its 100th anniversary in 2023, which isn't just big for Suntory, but for Japanese whisky as a category given that Yamazaki Distillery was the first single malt whisky distillery in Japan, which therefore also makes it the 100th anniversary of Japanese whiskymaking!

In commemoration of that big 1-0-0, Suntory has released a pair of single malts themed Story of the Distillery 2024 Edition (will there be a 2025 Edition?) from both Yamazaki Distillery and Hakushu Distillery - which let's not forget that 2023 was also the 50th anniversary for Hakushu!

Specs wise, both of them are non-age statement (no age specified, but we can probably assume they're at least 3 years old in order to meet Japanese whisky labelling requirements) or NAS, and are bottled at 43% ABV. 

Each of them come with a very nice packaging box with a backing that tells the story of their respective distilleries, once again celebrating how far each of them have come in their journey since their establishment, as well as renovations that were done during the recent anniversary in preparation for their future. I'd say this makes a very nice decorative gift set, but you'd had to have won a lottery ran by the distillery to get them - so if you're giving this away, you're one generous person.

Let's give them a go! 

Yamazaki Story of the Distillery 2024 Edition, 43% ABV - Review

[ウイスキーのレビュー] シングルモルトウイスキー山崎 Story of the Distillery 2024 EDITION

For the Yamazaki, it's bottled at 43% ABV, it's NAS, but Yamazaki does tell us that it's made from a blend of a wide variety of Yamazaki malts that includes Yamazaki whiskies aged in Mizunara, Spanish oak casks, amongst others. 

Tasting Notes

Colour: Honey

Aroma: Starts off really big on maltose candy and honey, there's also an immediate aromatic hit of coconut and candied pineapple. It's very rich, great depth on the nose, really loving that rich and milky coconut cream. It's filled up with some mustiness of lacquered wood furnishings, some hay and alittle bit of horse hide.

Taste: The richness persists, here taking a very gentle and mellow form. Lots of honey, some black pepper, more of that candied pineapple, joined by candied oranges, it's really smooth and almost syrupy. There's also a waxiness of beeswax.

Finish: The honey continues to flow! More of that coconut cream, some tinglyness, and then we're back to the diced candied tropical fruit and some wafts of lacquered wood.

My Thoughts

This was definitely enjoyable in particular the richness and roundedness of it, which gives such depth and a very lovely thicker texture, carrying those tropical notes of candied pineapples and coconut cream which I'd guess was the Mizunara talking. That hit of waxiness was also really superb. This was certainly one of the more outstanding limited edition Yamazaki's that I've had in recent years - that Mizunara note is very pronounced and also that richness - but that said I do think it could use more vibrance and energy on the palate and give us more intensity.

Hakushu Story of the Distillery 2024 Edition, 43% ABV - Review 

[ウイスキーのレビュー] シングルモルトウイスキー白州 Story of the Distillery 2024 EDITION

For the Hakushu, it's also 43% ABV and NAS, and for this, Suntory selected and blended smoky Hakushu malt whisky aged in Bourbon barrels.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Straw

Aroma: More candied here, lots of these brighter notes of green grapes, elderflower, some honey, it's really quite grape-y. Really aromatic, maltose candy, tobacco leaves, eucalyptus, light waves of hay, a very gentle dusting of whole white pepper. It's fruity, honeyed, herbal, alittle rustic, with a big candied and honeyed backbone. 

Taste: Mellow and candied here, very gentle and almost feels syrupy here too. It's got great richness, leaning sweet, dotted with alittle bit more spiciness and pepperiness here. Big on that grape-y note, green grapes, candy floss, yellow raisins, intensely honeyed, maltose, with a light bit of lacquered wood. Light wafts of herbal cough syrup.

Finish: Some sweet cold ash coming through here, backed by heaps of honey. Long and deep warmth with a light bitterness. 

My Thoughts

Super impressive! This was incredibly tasty, honestly Hakushu has been hitting hard the last couple of limited editions and although the it kind of finds it hard to shine past the shadows of Yamazaki, it's got its fans (of which I am one of them) - I swear between the two, it's massively underrated.

So what about this one? I really love how complex it is on the nose, it's got the same richness as the Yamazaki, but here it's certainly more complex that's something I picked up on immediately. It's a really lovely bouquet on the nose of brighter fruits, it's candied, it's herbal - at times it sort of reminds me of a Linkwood or a Lochside Scotch, and that light rustic quality coupled with those notes also made me think of an 80's Springbank.

The palate was rich, had alittle more spiciness and intensity, and whilst straightforward, it bundled in all these sweeter grape-y notes that was just absolutely lovely. Some herbal cough syrup mixed in as well. The finish popped out a surprise with that sweet cold ash - I guess that's where the peated malt went! - I didn't get any smokiness on the nose, but it came out very nicely on the finish, and all throughout there was just heaps of honey and maltose candy.

Absolutely lovely!

The Showdown

I suppose some folks would be curious as to which was better - the Hakushu was obviously my clear favourite, although I did think the Yamazaki did a pretty good job here. 

For what it's worth, as I was generously shared this at a local bottle share with about 7-10 folks around, I did gather some quick thoughts and quite interestingly, it was quite the even split between the two! There were just about as many folks who liked the Yamazaki, as there were those who liked the Hakushu! Not the most satisfying conclusion given there wasn't a crowd favourite, but those who liked the Yamazaki thought it was really cohesive, rounded and with a good richness, whereas those who mentioned liking the Hakushu spoke to its herbal and grape-y flavours. I suppose Suntory did give both distilleries a good representation then!

Having recently tried the Yamazaki Smoky Batch and the Hakushu Bittersweet Japanese Forest, I will say the Yamazaki has really jumped up in quality here, with the previous round having gone to Hakushu which was the crowd favourite.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot