New Hibiki Japanese whisky introduced in US

The Hibiki brand was launched in 1989 with Hibiki 17 Year Old, followed by Hibiki 21 Year Old in 1994, Hibiki 30 Year Old in 1997, Hibiki 12 Year Old in 2009 and now in 2015, with Hibiki Japanese Harmony, the first no age statement blend from Hibiki.

This new whisky pays tribute to the original Hibiki first launched in 1989 to commemorate the Suntory philosophy to live in harmony with nature and people. Suntory whisky’s chief blender Shinji has leveraged the same key malt and grain whiskies used in the first Hibiki blend, Hibiki 17 Years and Hibiki 21 Years. American White Oak malt whiskies create a solid base. The rare Mizunara (Japanese oak) and sherry cask malt whiskies are the dressing. The smoky malt whiskies enact as subtle accents to create depth and further complexity. Grain whiskies from Suntory’s Chita distillery act as the “dashi,” or broth, to complete the personality of the malt whiskies and enhance their overall harmony.

Hibiki Japanese Harmony is packaged in a glass decanter bottle cut in 24 facets, which represents the 24 hours in a day and the 24 seasons of the traditional Japanese lunar calendar, portraying Hibiki’s maturation over a long period of time throughout the four seasons.

Hibiki Japanese Harmony is available nationwide (rolling out now) with a suggested retail price of US$64.99.

17 August 2015 - Felicity Murray The Drinks Report, editor