Yamazaki Refill Spanish Oak 2026, 48%

The Yamazaki Refill Spanish Oak Single Malt Japanese Whisky — Limited Release, Bottled 2026, 48% ABV

Price

$399.95

✔ Authenticated by the house — seal, fill level, and label inspected before release
✔ Documented provenance on every bottle
✔ Climate-safe, collector-grade packaging

Age: 18 Years | Region: Japan | Proof: 86

Secure payments

Vault-to-door shipping

Adult signature (21+) at delivery

48%

ABV

Proof

2014–2015

Distilled

2026

Bottled

1923

Spanish oak since

Suntory made Yamazaki Refill Spanish Oak at its Yamazaki Distillery from malt whisky matured only in Spanish oak casks that had held whisky before. Its label records distillation in 2014 and 2015, a 2026 bottling and a strength of 48% alcohol by volume, which is 96 proof.

Nº 01

The Elemental Distinction

Second-use casks only. Suntory confines this release to refill Spanish oak casks: casks that have already matured whisky and gone back into service for new spirit, in Suntory's own definition.

Two distilling years. The handwritten distillation line reads 2014 & 2015, and a red band at the label's left edge reads Bottled in 2026.

Peat in the malt. Its malt type, as the label gives it, is lightly and medium-heavily peated.

Written by hand. Suntory's announcement describes the Yamazaki name in sumi brush lettering and flavour notes set down in the makers' own handwriting; on this English label a handwritten line sums up the whisky beneath the cask and malt fields.

Nº 02

One Wood, Refilled

Spanish oak at Yamazaki

Shinjiro Torii, Yamazaki's founder, picked Spanish oak casks in 1923, The House of Suntory says, and the wood has been part of the distillery ever since; the Yamazaki brand itself dates from 1984. In May 2022 Beam Suntory's Yamazaki Tsukuriwake Selection put a Spanish Oak bottling, made from oak casks of northern Spain, beside Puncheon, Peated Malt and Mizunara, all four at 48%. The 2026 release keeps that strength and is drawn only from refill casks, which Suntory says give up their oak more quietly, so the wood's red fruit sits with the fruit of the Yamazaki spirit itself.

A dim cask warehouse aisle, barrels stacked on racks on both sides and a worker in white overalls and a headlamp crouched beside them, autumn leaves through the far doorway — Warehouse aisle · The House of Suntory

A tulip-shaped nosing glass of amber whisky on a reflective counter, a row of bottles blurred behind it — Nosing glass · The House of Suntory

Nº 03

Sensory Profile & Strategy

Distiller notes & position

Sensory Profile

The House of Suntory's tasting note for this release gives a brilliant-amber colour and a nose of apricot compote, stewed and baked with clove and nutmeg. Fresh cherry leads the palate, joined by dried fig, charred peach and shavings of cacao, and the finish turns to coffee, fruit to the fore, with wood smoke.

Strategic Position

Spanish oak already has a place in the Yamazaki age statements, among them the Yamazaki 12, aged in Mizunara, American and Spanish oak, and the Yamazaki 18, with Spanish-oak malt of eighteen years or more, both bottled at 43%. Refill Spanish Oak isolates that one wood in its refill form at 48%, and it is dated by distillation year, 2014 and 2015, where those two carry age statements.

Nº 04

Collector Note & Index

Vault provenance

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Release

Suntory set November 24, 2026 for its nationwide release in Japan, in limited quantity. For export, The House of Suntory named 20 markets, the United States among them.

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Distillery of record

The label's address line reads Yamazaki Distillery, 5-2-1 Yamazaki, Shimamoto-cho, Mishima-gun, Osaka, and the red neck capsule is embossed SUNTORY WHISKY.

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JSLMA labelling

By The House of Suntory's statement, the whisky satisfies the Japan Spirits & Liqueurs Makers Association's labelling standards for Japanese Whisky.

Collector IndexMW VAULT

Distillery: Yamazaki, Osaka
Distilled: 2014 & 2015
Bottled: 2026
Cask: Refill Spanish oak
Malt type: Lightly & medium-heavily peated
ABV: 48%
Proof: 96

Hakushu and Hibiki bottles, Nikka's Taketsuru malts and the Chichibu releases fill out our Japanese whisky, Suntory to Chichibu; the Yamazaki 12, the 18 and Smoky Batch The Third are gathered in the Yamazaki distillery collection.

Nº 05

Technical Specifications

Specification	Detail
Whisky	The Yamazaki Refill Spanish Oak
Class	Single Malt Japanese Whisky
Distilled	2014 & 2015 (label)
Bottled	2026 (label)
Cask / Barrel	Refill Spanish oak casks only — casks used at least once to mature whisky (Suntory)
Malt type	Lightly & medium-heavily peated (label)
Colour	Brilliant amber (label; The House of Suntory)
ABV	48%
Proof	96
Distillery	Yamazaki Distillery, 5-2-1 Yamazaki, Shimamoto-cho, Mishima-gun, Osaka (label)
Producer	Suntory
Region	Osaka Prefecture, Japan
Labelling standard	Meets the JSLMA standard for labelling Japanese Whisky (The House of Suntory)
Release	Japan: November 24, 2026, nationwide (Suntory) · export: 20 markets, the United States among them (The House of Suntory)
Format	700 mL (Suntory’s Japanese release)

Nº 06

Records & Assurance

Production Methodology

Suntory's Japanese product page describes the release as drawn from the Spanish oak casks that have long shaped the Yamazaki brand's flavour, keeping only refills, casks returned to maturation time after time, which it credits with a calmer, more agreeable aroma and taste.

Authentication & Vault Preservation

Every bottle sold through Midnight Whiskey is sourced as an authentic, sealed product and inspected before it ships. Orders are packed with padded, glass-rated handling and require an adult signature (21+) on delivery; we do not ship to anyone unable to verify legal drinking age. For our full sourcing and handling protocols, see our editorial and authentication standards.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Yamazaki Refill Spanish Oak peated?

Its label says so: Yamazaki Refill Spanish Oak lists its malt type as lightly and medium-heavily peated. Suntory matured it in refill Spanish oak casks at the Yamazaki Distillery; its strength is 48% ABV, or 96 proof.

What is a refill Spanish oak cask?

In Suntory's definition, a refill cask has already been used at least once to mature whisky and is then filled again with new spirit. Yamazaki Refill Spanish Oak comes only from Spanish oak casks of this kind, which The House of Suntory says leave a softer oak imprint, letting red fruit and the Yamazaki spirit's own fruit show.

What does Yamazaki Refill Spanish Oak taste like?

Stewed apricot compote with clove and nutmeg opens the nose of Yamazaki Refill Spanish Oak in The House of Suntory's note, followed on the palate by fresh cherry, dried fig, charred peach and cacao shavings. The same note describes a brilliant-amber whisky with a fruit-led coffee and wood-smoke finish.

How old is Yamazaki Refill Spanish Oak?

Yamazaki Refill Spanish Oak carries no age statement. The label dates the whisky by its distillation years, 2014 and 2015, and its bottling year, 2026; it was matured in refill Spanish oak at Suntory's Yamazaki Distillery.

Midnight Whiskey · The Vault Refill Spanish Oak · Bottled 2026

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The Yamazaki

The Elemental Distinction

One Wood, Refilled