Is This the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection of Japanese Whisky?

The House of Suntory has unveiled the 2024 version of its Tsukuriwake series of ultra-premium Japanese Whiskies. 

The bottle set is a relatively new product offering for the esteemed Japanese Whisky producer, which is why it’s still unfamiliar to many casual fans. 

The House of Suntory released its first Tsukuriwake selections exclusively in Japan in 2020 before expanding the offering globally to most major markets in the Spring of 2022, just one year before the whiskey maker’s 100-year anniversary. 

 Now, with the second global iteration of the series, the House of Suntory appears committed to building on the early momentum it established for the annual release as a coveted offering in one of the fastest-growing global whisky categories, mirroring a strategy Buffalo Trace established with its Antique Collection. 

 Here’s what you need to know about the special Tsukuriwake series. 

What is the Tsukuriwake SERIES?

Suntory

Tsukuriwake (pronounced ‘soo-koo-ree-wah-keh’) is a Japanese term that means “artisanship through a diversity of making.”

The first global iteration of the elite whisky series inspired by the term came in 2022. It featured four bottles, all under the Yamazaki brand, none of which featured age statements.

Three of the series bottlings featured whisky aged in unique casks, including larger-sized Puncheon casks and Spanish Oak and Mizunara casks. The fourth offering in the series, Yamazaki Peated Malt, stood out thanks to its namesake ingredient generally loved for its smokey flavor characteristics.

Three of the four bottles featured MSRPs of $450, while the Mizunara-aged offering cost $620. Street prices of every bottle were, of course, far higher.

The 2024 Tsukuriwake Series

The 2024 edition of the Tsukuriwake series again features a mixture of exciting whiskies. Two bottles are novel releases, while two more are limited edition continuations of previous ultra-premium 18-year-old bottlings from Yamazaki and Hakushu, which House of Suntory opted to bring back due to popular demand.

Yamazaki Golden Promise

Suntory

Yamazaki Golden Promise gets its name from Golden Promise barley. The unique grain was initially developed in the 1950s and quickly embraced by English and Irish beer makers thanks to its distinct malty flavor. In the context of whisky, former Master Distiller of The Macallan David Robertson once described the grain’s impact as adding “gutsy, oily, creaminess.” 

 As the name suggests, Yamazaki Golden Promise is made from 100% Golden Promise barley. It’s bottled at a 48% ABV and priced at $465.

 It’s also worth adding that Yamazki 12 Year Old, which we’ve routinely acknowledged as one of the best Japanese Whiskies you can buy, also contains whisky distilled from Golden Promise barley. 

Yamazaki Islay Peated Malt

Suntory

Yamazaki Islay Peated Malt is exactly what it sounds like. It’s whisky made from grains toasted over smoldering peat sourced from the famed Scottish region of Islay.

This particular whisky is also, in many ways, a flex of the Suntory Group’s potent position as a global whisky-making power.

Accessing the required peat shouldn’t have been too complicated for Suntory. The worldwide beverage company owns Bowmore and Laphroaig Distilleries, which have long-made whiskies using Islay Peat. This whisky is bottled at a 48% ABV and priced at $465.

Yamazaki 18-Year-Old Mizunara (2024 Tsukuriwake Edition)

Suntory

The Yamazaki brand has featured an 18-year-old Mizunara whisky as far back as 2017, and the annual release is generally considered to be one of the best offerings the label releases each year. The 2024 Tsukuriwake Edition takes the inherent premium nature of the bottle to a new tier.

Mizunara, which translates to “water oak,” is a native Japanese oak from Hokkaido, which Gary McLoughlin, founder and marketing director at the Irish Glendalough Distiller, described to us once as “the world’s most flavorful oak.” 

The catch is that the unique oak is also notoriously difficult to work with from a whiskey production standpoint, given its relative rarity and propensity to leak. 

As expected, this 2024 edition features Mizunara’s trademark spice, sandalwood and dried coconut notes. Combined with its healthy age statement of 18 years, there’s a good reason why this 48% ABV offering jumps in price to $1,500.

Hakushu 18-Year-Old Peated Malt (2024 Tsukuriwake Edition)

Suntory

The final bottle included is another limited edition continuation of an existing premium bottling. Peated malt naturally adds flavors of smoke and earthiness to a mature Japanese whisky.

Notably, Hakushu 18-Year-Old Peated Malt is the lowest-proof offering of the series at 43% ABV. Its $1,200 MSRP is also slightly lower when compared to its 18-year-old Mizunara cousin.

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