The anniversary bottles and special releases - especially the Mt. The label is also designed to mimic washi paper, which has a 1,500-year tradition in Japan. Every bottle of Hibiki is a decanter-level shelf piece, with 24 facets representing both 24 hours in a day and the 24 seasons ( Sekki) of the Japanese calendar. Hibiki’s line is also a masterclass in bottle design. A barrel that doesn’t fit as a single malt or is otherwise off can be aged another few years and blended. Even so, perhaps it had a better chance of short-term survival again because it’s a blend. The Hibiki Harmony was never in danger of disappearing because there was no age statement, but the same can’t be said for the 17. Suntory’s other main brands - Hakushu and Yamazaki - start at 12, but both are single malts rather than blends, and there are things you can blend out that you can’t hide in a single malt.Īdding to that, even the 17-year age statement is a stretch right now with Japanese whisky going through a massive interest increase and equally drastic drawdown of aged stock. Since its introduction, the blended (NAS), Master’s Selection (a notch up from the “regular” Hibiki Harmony), 17-, 21-, and 30-year expressions have all been introduced (the latter for their 30th anniversary in 2019).Īs the first age-stated Hibiki product, it’s pretty impressive that 17 is the base age (important side note: Japanese whisky laws are notoriously lax around importing and relabeling, but by-and-large the companies otherwise abide in spirit by Scottish laws, meaning a 17-year age statement = the youngest whisky in the blend is at least 17 years old). Hibiki as a Suntory brand was launched in 1989 to celebrate the art of Japanese whisky-making…as I said in my Hibiki Harmony review, I consider this a perfect expression of that, with delicacy, intention, complexity, and clarity all falling into place.
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