The Yamazaki Smoky Batch The Third Single Malt Japanese Whisky
The Yamazaki Smoky Batch The Third Single Malt Japanese Whisky
The Yamazaki Smoky Batch The Third Single Malt Japanese Whisky
The Yamazaki Smoky Batch The Third Single Malt Japanese Whisky
The Yamazaki Smoky Batch The Third Single Malt Japanese Whisky
The Yamazaki Smoky Batch The Third Single Malt Japanese Whisky
The Yamazaki Smoky Batch The Third Single Malt Japanese Whisky
The Yamazaki Smoky Batch The Third Single Malt Japanese Whisky
The Yamazaki Smoky Batch The Third Single Malt Japanese Whisky
The Yamazaki Smoky Batch The Third Single Malt Japanese Whisky
The Yamazaki Smoky Batch The Third Single Malt Japanese Whisky
The Yamazaki Smoky Batch The Third Single Malt Japanese Whisky
The Yamazaki Smoky Batch The Third Single Malt Japanese Whisky
The Yamazaki Smoky Batch The Third Single Malt Japanese Whisky
Price
Regular price $449.95
Regular price Sale price $449.95
/
  • ✔ Authenticated by the house — seal, fill level, and label inspected before release
  • ✔ Documented provenance on every bottle
  • ✔ Climate-safe, collector-grade packaging
Age: NAS (No Age Statement) | Region: Shimamoto, Osaka, Japan | Proof: 86.0
  • Secure payments
  • Vault-to-door shipping
  • Adult signature (21+) at delivery
Shipping calculated at checkout.
Midnight Whiskey · The Vault Single Malt Japanese Whisky · Duty-Free Exclusive

Yamazaki Distillery

Smoky Batch

The Third

Sumi-Black Echizen Washi Livery · 43% ABV (86 Proof) · Duty-Free Exclusive

43.0%
ABV
86
Proof
NAS
Age Statement
700 mL
Format
Peated Malt
Blend Premise
Shimamoto, Osaka
Distillery Origin

Smoky Batch is the series in which Yamazaki inverts its own recipe. The smoky malt that normally contributes only a trace to the distillery's single malt — a small proportion that lends depth and complexity — is here the entire blend, composed solely of smoky malt distilled at Yamazaki. The Third continues that run at 43% ABV (86 proof) in a 700 mL bottle, sold through duty-free rather than domestic retail, in the series' sumi-black livery.

Nº 01

The Elemental Distinction

01

The distillery's own recipe, inverted. Suntory describes the smoky component as a malt used in very small quantities to give Yamazaki depth and complexity; the Smoky Batch series is built from that component alone.

02

All of it distilled at Yamazaki — the series blends only smoky malt made at the distillery itself, rather than sourcing peated whisky in.

03

The producer's stated aim is a gentle, distinctly Japanese smokiness rather than an Islay-style assault.

04

Duty-free exclusive. The series is sold through airport duty-free in restricted quantity rather than on the Japanese domestic market.

05

43% ABV, 700 mL , produced by Suntory at the Yamazaki Distillery in Shimamoto, Osaka, and supplied in a dedicated box.

06

The livery is the series' signature: Yamazaki's brush calligraphy on an Echizen washi label dyed in sumi black, the brand's own colour.

Nº 02

Distillery & Series Heritage

1923 Shimamoto Foundation

Yamazaki is Japan's oldest malt whisky distillery, founded in 1923 by Shinjiro Torii at the confluence of three rivers in Shimamoto, Osaka. While standard Yamazaki single malts rely on a complex harmony of Mizunara, American oak, and Sherry casks with just a touch of peated malt, the Smoky Batch series spotlights that solitary peated malt component at full volume across consecutive, numbered airport releases.

Nº 03

Craftsmanship & Presentation

Echizen Washi Sumi Livery
Peated Component Focus

100% In-House Peated Malt

Distilled at Yamazaki using peated malted barley, capturing a delicate Japanese peat smoke profile integrated with subtle fruity ester complexity.

Label Artistry

Echizen Washi Paper

Adorned with traditional tactile Echizen washi paper dyed in deep sumi black ink, finished with golden brush calligraphy.

Channel Distribution

Travel Retail Exclusive

Released strictly through international airport duty-free shops by allocation, never offered for domestic Japanese retail sale.

Release Packaging

Enclosed Collector Card

Housed in a sturdy charcoal presentation carton complete with an official Suntory narrative card explaining the peated malt premise.

Nº 04

Sensory Profile & Strategy

Peated Japanese Register
I

Sensory Profile

The series works in a single register. Where Yamazaki's standard single malt carries its smoky malt in fractions, here that malt is the whole whisky, so the smoke sits in the foreground rather than behind the Mizunara and sherry character the distillery is known for. Suntory's stated aim across the run is a gentle, distinctly Japanese smokiness rather than the medicinal peat of an Islay malt. Each batch in the series is blended separately, so the ordinal on the label identifies the whisky in the bottle.

II

Strategic Position

Duty-free series live in a blind spot: released without announcement, documented late and mostly in Japanese. It sits with the Spanish-oak Hakushu duty-free bottling, within the Japanese single malt shelf at Midnight Whiskey.

Nº 05

Collector Note & Index

Vault Provenance
→

Sequential Series Value

The Smoky Batch releases are numbered rather than dated, which makes the ordinal the whole of a bottle's identity — The First, The Second, The Third and subsequent releases are separate objects, and a sequential run assembled in order carries high collector demand.

→

Livery as Identification

The series livery is its own authentication marker: an Echizen washi label dyed in sumi black, carrying Yamazaki's brush calligraphy in gold, with the ordinal printed on the face and a Suntory narrative card enclosed in the charcoal presentation carton.

Collector IndexYAMAZAKI SMB3
Brand
The Yamazaki (Suntory)
Class
Single Malt Japanese Whisky
Series
Smoky Batch (The Third)
Proof / ABV
86 Proof (43.0% ABV)
Format
700 mL
Channel
Airport Duty-Free Exclusive

Explore the Japanese whisky collection this Yamazaki Smoky Batch The Third belongs to.

Yamazaki Distillery Still House
Yamazaki Distillery Entrance and Exterior
Nº 06

Technical Specifications

Specification Detail
CLASS Single Malt Japanese Whisky
SERIES Yamazaki Smoky Batch — The Third
COMPOSITION Blended solely from smoky malt distilled at the Yamazaki Distillery
SERIES PREMISE The smoky component Suntory uses in very small quantities within Yamazaki, here used as the entire whisky
ABV / PROOF 43.0% ABV / 86 Proof
VOLUME 700 mL
CHANNEL Duty-free exclusive, limited quantity — not released on domestic Japanese market
PACKAGING Presentation box and card; Echizen washi label dyed sumi black, carrying Yamazaki brush calligraphy
DISTILLERY Yamazaki Distillery, Shimamoto, Osaka, Japan (Founded 1923)
AGE STATEMENT None (NAS)
PRODUCER Suntory, Japan
Nº 07

Records & Assurance

Production Methodology

Yamazaki was founded in 1923 by Shinjiro Torii as Japan's first malt whisky distillery, and its single malt is built from a range of component whiskies of which a smoky malt is one — used, in Suntory's own account, in very small quantities to lend depth and complexity to the whole. The Smoky Batch series takes that component and makes it the entire whisky, blending only smoky malt distilled at Yamazaki, and aims at a soft Japanese smokiness rather than a medicinal one. The Third continues that series at 43% ABV in 700 mL, produced by Suntory at the Yamazaki Distillery in Shimamoto, Osaka, and supplied with a presentation box and a card. The series is sold through duty-free in restricted quantity rather than on the domestic Japanese market, and its packaging carries Yamazaki's brush calligraphy on an Echizen washi label dyed in sumi black.

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

What makes the Smoky Batch different from standard Yamazaki?

The proportions are inverted. Suntory describes the smoky malt as a component used in very small quantities within the Yamazaki single malt, where it lends depth and complexity. In the Smoky Batch series that component is the whole whisky — blended only from smoky malt distilled at Yamazaki itself, and aimed at a gentle, distinctly Japanese smokiness rather than a medicinal one.

Where is Yamazaki Smoky Batch sold?

Through duty-free rather than domestic retail. The series is a duty-free exclusive released in restricted quantity through airport shops, which is why it tends to surface in English-language coverage months after it appears — the earlier releases were noticed first by travellers rather than announced.

How are the Smoky Batch releases told apart?

By the ordinal on the label. The series runs as The First, The Second, The Third and onward rather than by vintage year, and every release shares the same sumi-black Echizen washi livery, so the number is what identifies the bottling. Each batch is blended separately from Yamazaki smoky malt, which makes the ordinal a whisky identifier rather than just a sequence marker.

Midnight Whiskey · The Vault The Yamazaki · Smoky Batch The Third

Curated For You

The Macallan TIME : SPACE Sherry Cask 20 Years Old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky (2026 Release) The Macallan $1,749.95

1 in stock
The Macallan TIME : SPACE Mastery 200 Year Anniversary Edition Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky — 2024 Bicentenary Release The Macallan $1,599.95

5 in stock
The Yamazaki Smoky Batch The Third Single Malt Japanese Whisky Suntory $449.95

1 in stock
Sold Out
Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino 2022 Catena Zapata $129.95
More from Suntory
Recently viewed