A while back I read an article about Japanese single malt whiskey being the shit these days, so when I stumbled upon a bottle of Suntory Yamazaki 12 year-old single malt whiskey in a liquor store recently, I went ahead and plunked down the requested $35. First a little interesting trivia: The Suntory brand is famous for using big name (mostly Western) celebs to shill for them -- this is the inspiration for the fantastic Lost in Translation. You can find some of the old commercials at Japander if you have the patience. Good stuff...
Now back to the booze: It's really friggin' good! The Suntory site refers to a "smooth, honeyed taste", which I think is the perfect description. I presonally like to describe it as sitting right on the line between good small batch bourbons and proper Scotch. At least one other reviewer liked it a lot, too.
Try it. You'll like it!
[Slightly Related Side Note: I have yet to lay hands on a bottle of Jinro brand soju. 'Round these parts I have only tracked down Kyung Woul Green Soju, which is sweet potato-based and is completely awesome. It tastes like slightly sweet water. Yum. Still gotta get the Jinro, though...]