WHEN OAK BECOMES ORACLE

The House of Suntory's new Yamazaki 25 Years Old Mizunara is a rare, single-wood expression: 25 years of patience coaxed into sandalwood, incense, and bittersweet citrus. It is Mizunara at its most luminous.

- WORDS INDRAN PARAMASIVAM PHOTOS BEAM SUNTORY

FOR 100 YEARS, the House of Suntory has stood as both pioneer and custodian of Japanese whisky. Its distilleries are not just production sites, but places where patience and artistry bend time into liquid form. Now, in the wake of that centennial, the House has unveiled a whisky unlike any other in its storied history: Yamazaki 25 Years Old Mizunara.

The first and oldest expression to mature exclusively in Mizunara oak, it is a rarefied release that reaffirms Suntory's genius for fusing heritage with daring innovation.

A Legacy Of Light

Before the sumptuous nuances of the oak’s revelations can be savoured, the larger Suntory mythos within which its magic reveals itself must be honoured.

The Suntory story began in 1923, when Shinjiro Torii established Japan's first malt whisky distillery at Yamazaki. His dream operated on the fulcrum of creation, not imitation. He wanted a spirit that could speak with a Japanese accent while standing tall alongside Scotch and bourbon. That ethos of innovation bound to tradition carried forward with his son, Keizo Saji, who expanded the family's vision with the Hakushu Distillery, nestled deep in forested mountains.