A Classic Bottling for All Fans of Japanese Whisky
Suntory “Hibiki Japanese Harmony” ($74.99)
“Exemplary blending skills and classically Hibiki.” —Whisky Advocate
While age-statement whiskies from Japan appear to have gone the way of the dodo, that doesn’t mean you can’t still get your whisky fix from the Land of the Rising Sun. Suntory’s “Hibiki Japanese Harmony,” while not bearing an age-statement, still offers the classic profile collectors and connoisseurs expect from this legendary distiller. While there may have been a bit of skepticism when Suntory announced the inaugural release of “Harmony,” any hesitation was quickly swept away upon tasting. A beautiful whisky by any measure, it is delightfully complex while remaining approachable and utterly delicious from the first sip to the last. Smoky flavors mingle with subtle touches of oak, lemon, toffee, and vanilla. Perhaps most striking is how gracefully elegant the delivery is, especially given its underlying power and verve. Very attractively priced at under $75, the “Harmony” is a very affordable way to enjoy a classic Japanese whisky from one of the most highly regarded distillers in the world. Our allocations of “Harmony” always sell in the blink of an eye, so don’t delay in securing your bottles.
Suntory “Hibiki Japanese Harmony” Japanese Whisky (750ml) ($74.99)
91 points Wine Enthusiast: “The newest blended whisky offering from Hibiki is burnished gold in the glass and has a bold aroma that mixes vanilla, fresh pear and a hint of smoke. The smokiness comes forward at the first sip, wrapping around a core of oak and vanilla custard and finishing long, with a mouthwatering bitter chocolate note. *Best of 2016* (KN)” (03/2016)
90 points Whisky Advocate: “Poised and complex, with typically lifted fruitiness: strawberry ice cream, pineapple, peach, balanced by delicate oak, bamboo shoot-like delicacy, then lemon. The palate is more rounded than that very forward nose, with toffee notes adding some weight. A touch of smoke comes along in the mid-palate, before fruits and caramelized coffee biscuits. Water allows the flavors to flood the palate. Exemplary blending skills and classically Hibiki. (DB, Winter 2015)” (12/2015)
Wine & Spirits: “You can’t be a Japanese whisky enthusiast without having noticed that there’s a shortage of the stuff. What once was readily available is now hard to find. What once was affordable now costs various bodily limbs. It is due to more than a fad. The best Japanese whisky is remarkable stuff, and none are better than the top single malts from Suntory, Yamazaki, Hakushu and the blended whisky Hibiki. Hibiki comes in 12-, 17- and 21-year-old expressions, but even the youngest of these is now allocated. Harmony, the newest release, carries no age statement, indicating that it contains younger whiskies than other bottlings. Nevertheless, this is a welcome concession, with Suntory’s classic sense of balance, nuance and delicacy. *Best of 2015* (JM)” (11/2015)
K&L Notes: The newest incarnation of Suntory’s hugely popular Hibiki series, this time without an age statement attached. The same soft, mellow, vanilla-laden flavor is still here, however. It’s a true harmony of pure Hibiki flavor.
Andrew Whiteley | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: July 10, 2019
If you haven’t had Hibiki Harmony recently, you must retry it. In all honesty, it’s not something we’ve opened for the staff here in a long time since it is so tightly allocated and sells out so quickly. It just wasn’t necessary. With our most recent drop of one of the most asked for Japanese whiskies on the market, I decided it was time to make sure the staff all knew what exactly we had. I must say, I was blown away by the richness in particular. The flavors are a delight, with crisp apple, fresh stone fruits, a touch of piquant pepper and a surprising amounts of vanilla and caramel. The palate has much more weight, presumably from a higher malt content, than I recall. It coats the tongue, but is never heavy. The finish is clean and bright and decidedly entices you to have another sip. We spend most of the year out of stock on this whisky just sadly telling customers, “no, it’s not available.” Today, we are sitting flush and want to let everyone know it’s here. The trick is, with the insane popularity of all true Japanese whisky, it won’t be here for long.
