Hibiki 21 Year Old Blended Japanese Whisky 700ml

• Critic tasting note: "Deep layers of vanilla and mizunara oak with sugar sprinkled pastries, incense sticks, oiled wood, tatami, dried apricot, golden sultana, and faint smoky spiciness. Nectarous mouthfeel with honey, barley sugar, dried citrus, orange peel, and delicate spices, it continues to sweeten beautifully showing vanilla, sugared almonds, banana custard, with hints of ginger and gentle oak. Slightly gummy finish as the vanilla quenches little eruptions of wood spices." - 93/100, Whisky Advocate

Apart from Single Malts, Suntory also produces a premium series of blended whiskies under the label 'Hibiki' (meaning 'harmony'), usually containing a high proportion of Single Malt (upwards of 50% according to one of the company's blenders). Thirty different malts are employed from Suntory's three distilleries, most with an age well above 21 years.

Hibiki 21 Year Old was, yet again, selected as the best-blended whisky in the world at the World Whisky Awards 2017. Hibiki has been awarded every year at the WWA since 2009. The judges described it as being “Elegant, sweet and complex. This whisky is full of dried fruit, orange peel, strawberry jam, and baked apple from start to finish. Smooth, subtle and fairly short.” 

Obvious collector appeal here, but we'd like to imagine this one being appreciated for what's inside the bottle.

Nose: Sweet, caramalised nuts, some lemon acidity, blackcurrants and pears with vanilla, dark toffee and rich sherry spice.
Palate: Oak, dark cherry and sweet caramel notes, buttery with a wisp of smoke and some wood spice.
Finish: Long, with a hint of smoke.