Color: Amber
Nose: Rose, lychee, hint of rosemary, mature woodiness, sandalwood
Palate: Honey like sweetness, candied orange peel, white chocolate
Finish: Subtle, tender long finish, with hint of Mizunara (Japanese oak)
Creating blends is a tricky business at the best of times but that was especially true in 1980s Japan. Suntory couldn’t depend on the Scotch whisky model of sourcing stock from hundreds of distilleries, as It was the first true whisky producer in the country. So, circumstance dictated that Suntory be self-sufficient and that each of its distilleries produce a wide spectrum of styles and flavours.
Hibiki Harmony is the culmination of this work, it contains malt whiskies from Yamazaki and Hakushu, as well as grain whisky from the versatile Chita distillery. Yamazaki offers harmonious fruit notes and a round sweetness to the blend, Hakushu imparts a green, herbal and elegantly smoky character and Chita provides the backbone to the whisky with honey and spiced notes. These broad styles are drawn from five different cask types including Mizunara and ex-sherry casks before being expertly blended under the watchful eye of master blender Shinjiro Torii.
For more than a century, Suntory has been the last word in Japanese whisky. Click below to explore our range of expressions from the venerable House of Suntory, which includes fine old single malts and more variations on the classic Hibiki.
I tried this chilled but without ice. It had a lovely fruity-cum-spicy aroma and taste. Although I really enjoyed it, I didn't think it was a significant improvement on my usual single malt.
With an unique flavor, mild, gentle, floral, fruity and sandalwood notes, thanks to the influence of mizunara casks. I rate this as the best whisky outside Scotland in the NAS segment. Tastes like a Speysider, blended with a Lowland whisky, smooth, sweet and blissfully aromatic.