Hey friends,
Welcome to Episode 6 of 6 Days of Suntory Hibiki. In my latest YouTube Video here, I chat about my experience with Suntory Hibiki 30 Year Old and see whether it’s worth the unbelievable prices being asked and then I rank all the Hibiki’s I’ve tasted in order of my personal preference. Let me know if you agree and what is your favourite Suntory Hibiki in the comments?
Kampai
Brian
Hi friends,
Welcome to Episode 5 of 6 Days of Suntory! You can check out my latest YouTube video here where I chat about and review Suntory Hibiki 21 Year Old. Is it the pinnacle of age statement Hibiki’s even compared to the 30 year old and one of the best blended whiskies ever? Let me know what you think in the comments.
Kampai
Brian
G’day everyone,
Welcome to Episode.3 of 6 Days of Suntory Hibiki. You can check out my latest YouTube video here where I discuss Hibiki 12 Year Old and give my tasting notes and rating. I know this one is very popular amongst many enthusiasts so chuck a comment in the comments section and let me know what you think of Hibiki 12.
Kampai
Brian
Hey friends,
Welcome to Episode.2 of 6 Days of Suntory Hibiki.
You can check out my latest YouTube video here. Today I discuss the Hibiki Japanese Harmony Masters Select. I’ve owned around 8 bottles of this over the years. Have you tried it? Let me know what you think of it in the comments section.
Kampai and have a great day!
Brian
Hey peeps,
Welcome to Episode.1 of 6 Days of Suntory Hibiki.
You can watch my latest YouTube Video here. Some background and tasting notes for Hibiki Japanese Harmony. A whisky I hated when first tasted! This is what I think of it now!
Let me know what you think of this in the comments section of the video.
Kampai
Brian
Nose: Light. Vanilla, strawberry stalks, fresh rhubarb, bread dough, hint of dusty oak.
Palate: Cinnamon, strawberry conserve, rhubarb, raspberries, vanilla. Light black tea, oak. Light bodied.
Finish: Vanilla cream. cinnamon, touch of chocolate and oak. Short length.
Last Word: Really mellow and fairly bland. Far prefer the ‘regular’ 10 and 12 year old bottlings.
Rating: 76/100
Nose: Bready notes of Rye and Pumpernickel. Plums, vanilla, cracked pepper, flint, mixed herbs. Butter, custard, peanut brittle. With water mint leaves.
Palate: Butter, chicken vindaloo, rye spice, pickled ginger, pepper, vanilla bean. Peanut butter, cloves, banana bread. Full bodied.
Finish: Banana, mixed herbs, peppermint jellies, peppermint tea, licorice. Complex and evolving.
Last Word: Quite a unique experience and an enjoyable one to boot, especially for someone like myself who enjoys Rye Whiskies.
Rating: 90/100
Nose: Stone fruits of peaches, plums and apricots. Toffee, oak, wood spice. Banana Flambeau and a corn note I’d associate with a blended whisky. Water brings out orange juice.
Palate: Ginger, nutmeg, pepper, oak, banana, creamed corn, cashews. Arnott’s Savory Shapes Biscuits, orange juice. The spices are quite prominent and make this quite punchy at ‘only’ 43%abv. Water introduces some Fruit Tingles Sweetness.
Finish: Banana’s, butter, cashews, mint, BBQ hotplate, orange juice.
Last Word: Not the last word in complexity/boldness but I am sure that was deliberate. There is enough going on with the punchy spices and nicely balanced with a little water added.
Rating: 85/100
Nose: Icing sugar, lemon, mandarin, vanilla, pepper, banana, cream corn.
Palate: Fried banana, mandarin, butter, vanilla, pepper, almonds.
Finish: Mandarin, butter and a little pepper.
Last Word: The most “Imperial” thing about this blended whisky is the lovely decanter style bottle it comes in. Beyond that it is a fairly simple offering.
Rating: 78/100
Nose: At 43%abv it’s no heavy hitter but elegant and complex. Dark cherries, roasted chestnuts, raisins, vanilla, Valencia oranges, nutmeg, red grapes, a waxy note, Cherry Ripes, subtle oak, brandy snaps.
Palate: Faithfully follow’s the nose for the most part but the oak is definitely firmer. There is also cloves and old leather. Water brings out sultana’s, mint milk chocolate, red berries and cocoa powder. The fruit flavors are nice and juicy.
Finish: Medium length on mint milk chocolate, menthol, nutmeg, oak and cocoa.
Last Word: High quality and classy blend with classic Suntory Sherry Cask matured whisky elements wrapped up in a elegant package. I’ll add that in reality much darker in color than the photo which is heavily backlit.
Rating: 92/100
Nose: Strawberries, fresh cut timber, barley, pears, bourbon like orange. Water adds lychee and honeydew melon.
Palate: Without water overwhelmingly hot. It’s smooth enough going down, it just lights up the palate. Needs a good ‘splash’ of water and even then there is still some decent chili heat. With water the whisky opens up some with poached pears, nutmeg, Brazil nuts, lemon, lychee’s, raisins and strawberry compote.
Finish: The heat continues on the palate but again, water assists greatly. Lychees, raisins, cantaloupe and almonds.
Last Word: They really could have bottled this at 46% and it would have been more rounded from the start. Once you cut through the heat with a lot of water there are some nice flavors to be had.
Rating: 84/100