Review: Suntory Hibiki 17 years old Blended Japanese Whisky

 

Japanese Whisky
I am not an authority.  What little I have tried has impressed me.  In North America, Yamazaki 12 and 18 years are the most common.  The 12 is good.  The 18yrs is excellent.  These whiskies are proof that great single malts can be produced outside of Scotland.

Recently, I had the opportunity to try Hibiki 17 years old.  My uncle was given a bottle by his daughter-in-law.  She is Japanese and while in her native land picked up a bottle of Hibiki 17 years old as a gift for my uncle.  I got to try it! 

Blended Whisky
Hibiki 17 years is not a single malt.  Don't turn your nose up.  That would be a serious mistake.  Have an open mind and you will be rewarded.

This spirit is a blend of malt and grain whiskies having a minimum age of 17 years.  What is astounding about this whisky is that there is no graininess or rounded flavors that seem to 'blur' the flavors as is typical of high end Scotch whisky blends like Ballantine's 17 years, Chivas Regal 18 years, Johnnie Walker Gold and Blue Labels. 

Hibiki 17 can be proud of an extraordinary feat.  It tastes like a single malt scotch whisky, and a very, very fine one at that.

Nose
Cocoa and hazelnut.  It was quite restrained.  Not incredible but not offensive.  Just kinda there.  Very pleasant.

Palate
Rich, textured beams of cinammon, oak and honey lash the palate with lemon zest as you hold the whisky for a few seconds.  Medium to full bodied.  Never sharp.  Inifinitely smooth, yet playful and challenging.  A whisky that makes one unpoetically (is that a word?) wax on like a star-crossed lover.

Finish
Wow!  Super long!  You need such a little sip of this whisky to enjoy a subtle spiced oak/honey/cinammon combo wrapped in hazelnut with a little citrus on top. A flavor profile that will hold for a good 60 seconds after you swallow.  Wow!  I know, I know, I am getting repetitive, but this is really impressive.

General Impressions
I am breaking one of my cardinal rules of this blog.  Namely:  Thou shalt not review a whisky unless thou has tasted the whisky on multiple occasions.  In other words, own my own bottle, sample repeatedly, and then compose tasting notes.  I have broken that rule because this is a whisky that breaks all the rules!  (1)  It's a blended whisky but tastes like the finest single malt;  (2)  It's Japanese but could easily pass for 18+ years single malt Scotch.  (3)  It's terribly expensive but a tiny sip is so rich that in my warped mind I think it is worth the price!

I have tried many single malts and grain whiskies and this is simply one of the best.  I rank it in my top five of all time.  Fantastic stuff!

Rarely do I pay attention to the shape of a bottle, but the fine glass, Hibiki 17 24 sided bottle design is impressive.  The 24 sides allude to the number of hours in a day as well as the number of seasons in the traditional Japanese lunar calendar.  The heavy glass cap is elegant like the whisky underneath.

The trouble with Hibiki 17 is locating it, if you live in North America.  It is currently not being distributed in the United States or Canada.  I have a lot of readers in Hong Kong, Singapore, as well as Japan.  I suspect they can obtain it more easily.  For the rest of us, we gotta pray it turns up at duty free in the airport.

However, while the Hibiki 17 is not available in North America, the 12 year old is available and it is excellent.  If you see it, buy it!

I would buy this for myself and only share with people who appreciate great whisky.  If you can find it, buy it!

Cheers!


Jason Debly

Copyright © Jason Debly, 2009-2012. All rights reserved.

Suntory Single Malt Whisky "Yamazaki" 12 yr old

"For relaxing times . . .
make it Suntory times." This famous line comes from the quirky and highly entertaining film, Lost in Translation. Bill Murray portrays an American actor in Japan for the purpose of doing an advertisement for Suntory whisky. The film gave tremendous exposure for the Yamazaki whiskey to the rest of the world, particularly, North America. Suntory have always run a lot of whisky ads with film stars too like Sean Connery. If you go on "You Tube" and search Suntory Advertisements you can see them for your self. Really quite entertaining. Getting back to the movie line above, I can personally attest that Suntory's Yamazaki 12yr old makes for relaxing times!

Single malt whisky can be distilled outside of Scotland! As much as scotch afficionados think only Scotland can deliver the finest whisky in the world, there are contenders elsewhere within grasp of taking the title.

Japan is home to a great distillery, Yamazaki, owned by the Suntory conglomerate. Matter of fact, this distillery was the first single malt distillery outside of Scotland. It was founded in 1923 in the Vale of Yamazaki, on the outskirts of Kyoto. The site was selected for its access to fresh air, pure water and ideal humidity for aging whisky in casks.

The Japanese love their whisky and like most endeavours that they attempt, they succeed when it comes to producing a great single malt whiskey. It is the Yamazaki 12 year old. My tasting note is as follows:

Nose
The aromas are a little different from what I expected. At first a little strong waft of alcohol, but sniffed more carefully, I detect malt and cereal. The nose is not impressive. Hard to read and so I really had no idea what would unfold upon tasting.

Palate
This is medium bodied to heavy. It has a viscous texture releasing malt, chocolate, sweet spice and some peat. It starts out sweet but by the finish starts to dry across the palate. Incredibly smooth dram of honey and cinammon. Could easily pass for a 12 year old Speyside single malt in a blind tasting test.

Finish
Nice length of flavors. Lingering cinammon/burnt toast and faint echo of peat, black tea and mint.

General Impressions
I like this a lot. It is interesting and totally inoffensive. Tastes like scotch and if I was conducting a blind taste test, I am sure it would pass for a Speyside as I mentioned above. Sophisticated, silky and reasonably priced too. You buy this and can be assured that you are receiving value for money. I rank this better than other 12 year old single malts like Glenfiddich and Glenlivet, but not as complex as say Cragganmore 12.

This is a sweet whisky with drying qualities upon the finish. Dalwhinnie is a good reference point for comparisons with this whisky.

What you will not taste in the Yamazaki 12 yr old is: sherry, tobacco and peat beyond a little tease.

The Yamazaki 12 yr old has made a new fan! I hope you will give it a try sometime. You will not be disappointed.

Cheers!

© Jason Debly, 2009-2011. All rights reserved.