Yamazaki 50 Years Named Best Whisky by TV Series

Tuesday, 09 September 2025 at 17:03

‘The best whisky you've ever had,’ says Terry Silver in the second episode of the Netflix smash-hit Cobra Kai. The glass he raises happens to be a Yamazaki 50 years. Do we see the actual bottle? No, but that doesn't matter. The reference has been made and it doesn't end there.

Do sport and drink go together? Many top athletes would have an opinion on this. So, it's striking to see whisky suddenly become a theme in a Cobra Kai episode, given this is a TV show primarily about fighting. After all, the TV series is a spin-off from the well-known karate films of the 90s.

If you haven't seen the latest seasons of Cobra Kai yet, do not continue reading due to spoilers. However, if you are only interested in what happens around Yamazaki 50 years, feel free to keep reading.

Yamazaki 50 years comes with a price tag

In the second episode, Chozen Toguchi visits Silver. This is arranged by Daniel LaRusso. LaRusso explained that Silver would likely do everything to make Toguchi feel comfortable and he does. As soon as Toguchi comes in, Silver welcomes him at a large table, promptly pouring him a Yamazaki 50 years.

Silver tags this whisky 'as the best whisky in the world'. The average Netflix viewer may not know this, but enthusiasts do: Silver has taste and apparently a well-stocked wallet. As the average value of Yamazaki 50 years stands according to Whiskybase at 124.496,65 euros! Afterward, the two gentlemen toast with the word ‘Karii’.

Later in the episode, it will turn out that thanks to this statement Toguchi gets busted, because he earlier claimed to come from Kyoto. Karii, the word for cheers, apparently is only used in Okinawa and not in Kyoto, as Silver explains. The word that Toguchi should have used would have been different.

The glass was half full

It's delicious to see how Silver makes this clear. When the two gentlemen are in their karate uniforms in a dojo, he suddenly starts sharing: ‘You were not entirely honest with me...Chozen?’ When Toguchi asks how he realized this, Silver begins to explain:

‘Have you ever heard of a man, Masataka Taketsuru? About a hundred years ago, he moved from Hiroshima to Scotland. He studied organic chemistry. He returned to Japan armed with the secret of excellent whisky. He built his own distillery, just outside Kyoto. His brand: Suntory. The one we drank last night. I've had the pleasure of drinking it where it's made. And every time I raise a glass with an old friend from Kyoto we say kanpai.’

That's all for whisky news from the Cobra Kai episode. Yamazaki fortunately also has a variety of other price ranges, although it remains an expensive whisky that you cannot purchase for less than a hundred euros.

Have you ever had a Yamazaki and if so, which one?