The Yamazaki 12 Year Old Single Malt Japanese Whiskey (Suntory Limited)

I'd read in some trade magazine a while back that the Japanese were trying to break into the whiskey markey; I thought this interesting at the time, but as time marched on I never saw any examples their homegrown product in any of my local retail shops. I figured this meant that the movement never really took off or that whatever was being produced just wasn't quite ready for export.

Then I found The Yamazaki.

In their words: ...

In my words:
On the nose... alcohol. Lots of it. It sears the sinuses it's so strong. Beneath this you can catch faint whiffs of butterscotch, dried pears and figs, and a hint of oak.

Where did the alcohol go? Did I lose it? No, there it is again, searing my palate this time. There's an oakiness that follows up the burn and some more dried fruit hiding around the edges.

What do I say? I wanted to like this whiskey; in fact, I was quite excited just to have found it. Unfortunately, The Yamazaki comes across as amateur hour. As my friend MisterBen put it, "this is a whiskey for people who like sake." Which is fine, I like sake, too, but not in the form of a 12 year old whiskey. Why put all that effort into making a shooter?

To be fair, I tried to give The Yamazaki every possible chance. I let it breathe for various allotments of time. I tried it with a variety of chasers. With none of these things did the profile improve or even change.

I would say that The Yamazaki needs more time, but I couldn't even begin to tell you how long that should be. The stench and taste of alcohol are just that overwhelming. Apparently Suntory makes an 18 year old whiskey as well, a fact that vexes me to no end. Is the difference between the 12 and the 18 dramatic and positive? Or will I be paying more money for yet another bottle of antiseptic?