Suntory Yamazaki Distillery Turns 100 Years
The first malt whisky distillery in Japan, the Yamazaki distillery, was founded in 1923 by Torii Shinjirō. This year the company that has filled the world with whiskey, will be celebrating its 100th anniversary.
Tourists will have another reason to visit the distillery and see its rich history displayed in over 700,000 whiskies in its library. Visitors are free to visit with or without having an appointment and can participate in the whisky tour.
A part of its heritage goes beyond a distillery library and can be found in its high-demand single-malt whisky.
There are three primary variants of Yamazaki whisky:
- Yamazaki Single Malt 12-Year-Old whisky
- Yamazaki Single Malt 18-Year-Old whisky
- Yamazaki Single Malt 25-Year-Old whisky
There are also other offerings outside of the US such as the 10-, 25-, 35- and 50-year-old whiskies.
A bottle of Yamazaki 55 won a bid for $600,000 at a Sotheby’s auction in New York in 2022. However, the record bid of $795,000 established at a Hong Kong auction in 2020 remains intact.
Even as the company wrestles to fulfill consumer demands for its whiskies, an initiative to expand the distillery and facilities is underway. However, management is doubtful that this will provide more than just a temporary solution. The global demand for the Yamazaki Single Malt continues to increase each year.
According to the senior general manager, Takahisa Fujii, even though the company plans to invest over ¥10 billion into its Yamazaki and Hakushu distilleries, demand still far outstrips capacity. The distillery may have to continue expansion for a few more years to be able to come abreast with the ever-growing demand.
Nonetheless, the high whisky boom is not unique to Yamazaki but across Japan and South Korea where an increase in imports is still failing to meet local demand. As people travel from all over to visit the famed centenarian, there is hope that somewhere in the library is a bottle that they may like.