Yamazaki Hibiki Suntory Whisky

This is a Suntory blend in the Hibiki idiom, not a single malt, drawing malt from the Yamazaki distillery in Osaka and the mountain distillery at Hakushu in Yamanashi, woven together with light grain whisky from Chita in Aichi. Suntory has built its reputation on balance, and the Hibiki line is the clearest expression of that ambition, a harmony of the company's three sites rather than the voice of any one of them.

Matured in Ex-Bourbon oak, it leads with honey and soft orchard fruit, vanilla and a measured sweetness from the grain backbone, with the faint sandalwood and incense note that the house draws from Japanese oak threading through the finish. The malt lends shape and the grain lends a clean, easy texture. At 43% it stays smooth and unhurried, a blend made for balance rather than weight, and a fair introduction to the layered character Suntory aims for across its range.