The Yamazaki 12 Year Old Single Malt Japanese Whisky

Twelve years is the minimum age here, and the extra time shows in how gently this single malt lands at 86 proof (43% ABV). It is a soft, generous whisky rather than a loud one, built from casks of American, Spanish and Mizunara oak.

Stone fruit leads: ripe peach, then pineapple and a squeeze of grapefruit that keeps everything bright. Underneath sits something warmer and sweeter, coconut with a dusting of clove. Ginger and cinnamon arrive late and hold on through a long, faintly incense-like finish, which is where the Mizunara influence tends to make itself felt.

This is the bottle to reach for when you want something considered but not ceremonial. It drinks beautifully neat at room temperature, and it takes to a highball with good soda as well as any malt from the Yamazaki distillery region. The 750 mL bottle earns its place on the back bar and gets opened more often than most.