Country: Japan
Brand: Suntory Hibiki
Type: Blended Whisky
Age: 17 Years
Alcohol: 43%
Colour: Old Gold
Nose: Malty at first. This blend needs lots of time in the glass to open up. After 40 minutes or so some fruit is noticeable. Could be Bananas, Plums or Apricots. Cocoa for sure. There’s also Oak, Caramel, Hazelnuts or Almonds and Resin. Light Floral notes in the back. Bit of alcohol there despite its 17 years.
Taste: Sufficiently strong delivery thanks to the 43% with Bee-Wax, Lemon Peel, Cherries, Ginger, Hazelnut, Sherry and White Pepper.
Finish: A Bit Disappointing. Dry, slightly bitter with Citrus (Orange and Lemon), Light Spices, Cocoa, Custard and Oak. Could have been longer.
You may add some water that will enhance the floral tones in the nose. However,be careful because the palate does not accept more than a few little drops.
Rating: 84,5
Nose: 21,5 – Taste: 21,5 - Finish: 20,5 – Overall: 21
General Remarks: Normally I don’t pay too much attention to the packaging but it needs to be said that the bottle used for the Hibiki 17 is a very nice one. It's almost like a decanter.
Hibiki is a blend of grain – and malt whiskies prepared with whiskies from Suntory’s three distilleries. But contrary to the cheaper Scottish blends, the Grain influence is less noticeable. You could easily be fooled in a blind tasting session and identify the Hibiki as a possible Single Malt. The malts used for the blend have been matured in Sherry Casks.
The blend was introduced in 1989 to celebrate Suntory’s 90th Anniversary. It’s expensive at around a USD 100,- but you should compare it price wise to Single Malts or High End Blends.
Drinking Experience Neat: Good.
Conclusion: This Blend is much acclaimed all over the world, so naturally I was really curious if it would live up to expectations. The Word Hibiki in Japanese has a lot of meanings. The two I thought most linked to the idea behind this blend were " Collection of Reflecting Sounds" and " Harmony".
Because in the end, that’s what every serious blender would want to achieve. To create or marry a collection of reflecting flavors that, once brought together, form a unique harmonious combination while maintaining or even enhancing the strengths of the individual components. I don’t want to start complaining again about the large number of indifferent blends that unfortunately exist but these bottom shelf products certainly can’t be called Hibiki.
So does the Suntory 17 years I’m reviewing today truly deserve that name?
Yes when I consider that sufficient reflecting flavors (sounds) have been brought together. Every time you will smell and taste the Hibiki you might find something new. There are floral tones and fruits and nuts and vanilla. There’s bee-wax and polish and spices. Still, I also find that there are elements that disturb the harmony of this blend. There’s a wee bit too much burnt sugar for my liking and the Bourbon like bee-wax or glue tones do not combine well with the sherry and the fruits. And there’s that slight bitterness in the finish that I’m not too fond of. Finally, it’s too expensive. So, while it’s a good blend I believe more Harmony is needed to really deserve the name Hibiki.
Jan van den Ende February 9, 2012
