Hibiki, whose name translates as resonance or echo, is Suntory's expression of the art of blending. It gathers whiskies drawn from three houses — Yamazaki, Hakushu and Chita — into a single voice, guided by a philosophy that prizes harmony over age.
A History of the Distillery
Suntory was founded by Shinjiro Torii, who commissioned Japan's first purpose-built malt whisky distillery at Yamazaki in 1923. His collaborator, Masataka Taketsuru, had studied chemistry at the University of Glasgow and served apprenticeships at Scottish distilleries; together they set out to make a whisky that honoured Scottish tradition while reflecting Japanese sensibility.
Hibiki itself was introduced in 1989 to mark Suntory's ninetieth anniversary. The Japanese Harmony expression, released in 2015, carries no age statement — a decision that emphasises the blender's craft over the calendar.
Production Process
The blend is composed of malt whiskies from Yamazaki (in the hills south of Kyoto) and Hakushu (in the Southern Japanese Alps), combined with grain whisky from the Chita distillery on the coast of Aichi Prefecture.
Maturation draws upon several cask types including American white oak, sherry casks, and the rare mizunara — Japanese oak whose slow-growing wood contributes a distinctive incense-like character.
Blending is the art of listening to whiskies until they begin to sing together.
Historical Significance
Japanese whisky has developed a philosophy distinct from its Scottish antecedents, prizing balance, quietude and precision. Hibiki has become the internationally recognised emblem of that philosophy, and of the Japanese conception of blending as a discipline unto itself.
Distillery Curiosities
- ◆The bottle is faceted with 24 sides, representing the sekki — the 24 micro-seasons of the traditional Japanese lunisolar calendar.
- ◆Suntory's blenders sometimes describe their craft using the language of Japanese poetry, seeking a whisky that is at once expressive and restrained.