SUNTORY YAMAZAKI TSUKURIWAKE ISLAY PEATED 2024 ED

Islay-peated malt sourced from Scotland anchors this 2024 Tsukuriwake release from Suntory's Yamazaki distillery, a deliberate raw-material choice that imports Scottish smoke into a Japanese single malt framework. Yamazaki sits at the confluence of three rivers southeast of Kyoto, where high humidity and temperature swings accelerate maturation. The Tsukuriwake series gives Suntory's blenders latitude to vary peating levels, fermentation, and cask selection across releases. This bottling opens with gentle smoke and biscuit on the nose, then develops brown sugar sweetness and bitter orange citrus on the palate before a warm finish that balances smoke and sweetness.