Suntory Excellence

Suntory Excellence is a blended malt, a vatting of malt whisky from the Yamazaki distillery in Osaka and the forest distillery at Hakushu in Yamanashi, with no grain whisky in the blend. It pairs Yamazaki's orchard fruit and rounded sweetness with Hakushu's fresh, green, herbal cut, an expression of Suntory's two malt distilleries together rather than the voice of a single site, in the balanced house style the company has pursued since its founding.

Matured in Ex-Bourbon oak, it leads with honey and ripe orchard fruit, vanilla and a measured sweetness, with the soft sandalwood and incense note Suntory draws from Japanese oak running through the finish. The marriage of the two malts gives both fruit and a gentle herbal lift, held in the kind of poise that defines the house. At 43% it stays smooth and rounded, an accessible blended malt that shows Suntory's preference for harmony over weight.