Yamasaki Distillery, the oldest distillery in Japan, is almost synonymous with Japanese whisky. This is, in part, thanks to the popularity of the Yamazaki 12 Year Old, the longest-standing single malt expression in Yamazaki’s core range.
The Yamazaki 12 Year Old was first marketed in 1984. Prior to this, the distillery had been producing blended Japanese whisky. The effort was fronted by Keizo Saji, the son of Yanasaki's founder, Shinjiro Torii. Saji also designed the label for the Yamazaki 12 Year Old, which remains mostly unchanged today.