Review | Hibiki 40 years old

This new whisky is the oldest ever version of the award-winning Hibiki blend from The House of Suntory. It features whiskies from the company's three distilleries of Chita, Hakushu and Yamazaki. There are six component whiskies in total - the largest percentages are Yamazaki American Oak from 1983, Hakushu Lightly Peated from 1981 and two Chita single grains from 1979 and 1981. Smaller percentages in the blend include Yamazaki Spanish Oak and Yamazaki Mizunara Oak, both from 1983. 

Review | Hibiki 21 years old 100th Anniversary Edition

The House of Suntory, the founders of the Japanese whisky industry, are celebrating their centenary this year. Several events and bottlings have marked the occasion but arguably none are more special than this new release - the Hibiki 21 years old 100th Anniversary Edition. The rare blend has been created using whiskies from each of Suntory's distilleries - Chita, Hakushu and Yamazaki. A pocket of the Yamazaki spirit that was used has been matured in Mizunara oak casks.

Inbox / The Week's Whisky News (October 14, 2022)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday. Within Inbox we aim to write a few lines detailing each press release/piece of news/PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information. 

Inbox / The Week's Whisky News (October 22, 2021)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday. Within Inbox we aim to write a few lines detailing each press release/piece of news/PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information. 

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (April 1, 2016)

Welcome to this week's Inbox.  For those that have recently discovered us, Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

Review - Hibiki Japanese Harmony

The Japanese Harmony is the latest addition to the core range of the Hibiki.  The new whisky has been created by Shingo Torii and Shinji Fukuyo, Master Blender and Chief Blender respectively at brand owners Suntory.  They have used the same whiskies as in the original version of the Hibiki blend, which was first released in 1989. The pair have used single grain whisky from Suntory's Chita grain distillery plus malts from their Hakushu and Yamazaki distilleries.  These have been matured in a combination of American white oak, Mizunara oak and ex-sherry casks.

Inbox - The Week's Whisky News (June 26, 2015)

Welcome to this week's Inbox.  For those that have recently discovered us, Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

Our Top 10 whiskies of 2009 (Part 1)

We have sampled and reviewed many whiskies over the last year at Whisky For Everyone, so we have decided to choose our top 10 of the new releases that hit the market in 2009. With so many whiskies to choose from we have called in the help of Chris Maclean - the esteemed manager of The Whisky Shop's London branch and a selected judge in the whisky category of the recent Spirits Business Magazine Awards.

Top 10s are always contentious issues as everyone has differing opinions. We have tried to select our Top 10 on quality, value for money and availability to the public. To this end, there are not really any single cask or independent bottlings included despite some excellent ones being sampled throughout the year. Some however are limited edition bottlings that are still available to purchase. We would be interested to hear your nominations also, so please add your comments at the bottom of this post. Our selections will be split in to two parts with numbers 6-10 below and 1-5 will be posted tomorrow. Here goes ....

6 - Laphroaig 18 years old
This whisky was introduced to replace the popular 15 years old in Laphroaig's core range. The famous distillery on the western isle of Islay took a gamble by doing this but it paid off. The nose is fresh and clean with an instant hit of pungent aromatic smoke (imagine damp moss and dry peat). This is balanced with vanilla, a briny saltiness and honey. On the palate, it is robust and powerful offering early sugary sweetness that combines vanilla and honey with malty cereals and spicy woodiness. The smokiness is less earthy and more like charcoal or burning embers/ash with some saltiness and a bitter iodine twist. The finish is very long with a bittersweet mix of vanilla, honey, warm gingery spices and pronounced smokiness that reminded us of creosote fence paint. A classic smoky dram.
Details - Approx. price £65/ Alcoholic strength 48% ABV/ To read full post - click here

7 - Hibiki 12 years old
A Japanese whisky that was released to compliment to well known and well loved Hibiki 17 years old (made famous by Bill Murray in the movie Lost in Translation). The owners, Suntory, kept the distinctive decanter style bottle but that is where the similarities end. It contains single malts from the Yamazaki and Hakushu distilleries plus aged grain whisky. The main difference is that it has been part matured in Umeshu (a type of Japanese plum wine) casks. This has a very promising nose - it is fragrant with fresh stone fruit (like cherries and plums), plus vanilla, honey and hints of peppery spiciness (imagine ground white pepper). The palate is refreshing, cleansing and mellow with lots of fresh juicy fruit notes (especially the plums) combining with vanilla and barley sweetness. It has a crisp, short finish with peppery spice coming through. A lovely clean, fresh whisky that makes you want another sip!
Details - Approx. price £40-50/ 43% ABV/ To read full post - click here

8 - Lagavulin 12 years old Cask Strength
This bottling by the iconic Lagavulin distillery on the western island of Islay formed part of drinks giant Diageo's annual Autumn Cask Strength limited releases. The nose is intense and full of peaty, earthy smokiness (reminiscent of wood embers and ash). This is joined by a mix of caramel, vanilla, toffee, some saltiness and a citrus element (imagine lemon zest). On the palate, this is full bodied with smokiness marrying perfectly with sweet barley, briny saltiness, caramel and something nutty (imagine hazelnuts). With water, the whisky opens up releasing more smoke and salt with a pepperiness coming through. The water also brings out fruity elements (think of tinned fruit, pears especially). The finish is long, drying and intense with that earthy, peaty smoke fading slowly. An excellent and complex whisky that is a real bargain for the price.
Details - Approx.price £55-60/ 59.9% ABV/less than 3000 bottles/ To read full post - click here

9 - Dalmore 18 years old
Released in the Autumn and was long awaited as it represents the first time that the Dalmore distillery have officially bottled an 18 years old. The nose is very pleasant, sweet and rich with plenty of malted barley that is quickly joined by the classic sherry cask characteristics - dried fruits (think of raisins and sultanas), candied peel (especially oranges), nuts (imagine walnuts and almonds) and caramel. On the palate, this is full bodied and silky with plenty of sherried dried fruit, especially raisins, and this is complimented by a lovely woody, nutty spiciness ( a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and walnuts). There are also other elements - slightly bitter candied orange peel, caramel, vanilla and a hint of dark plain chocolate/cocoa powder and roasted coffee. The finish is rich, fruity (the dried fruit/candied peel again) with warm spiciness (imagine cinnamon and cloves). This is a lovely, rich and smooth whisky.
Details - Approx. price £75-85/ 43% ABV/ To read full post - click here

10 - Kilkerran 'Work in Progress'
Kilkerran is the first official single malt release from the new Glengyle distillery in Campbeltown. The whisky may only be five years of age but we believe it shows great potential and had to have it in our Top 10. The colour is light and straw-like, with a nose that is highly aromatic and full of promising youthful vibrancy. There is a mixture of sweet cereal grains, fresh green fruit (think of pears and apples), something powerful and herbal (imagine dried grasses) and a whiff of peppery peat smoke. On the palate it feels creamy in the mouth and the cereal, green fruit and grassy elements from the nose are joined by a sugary sweetness (imagine icing sugar), vanilla and zesty citrus (think of lemon and orange). The finish is long with a hint of earthy smokiness and woody oak coming through, before turning slightly harsh and spirity right at the end. A very pleasant and highly characteristic whisky that may be robust, youthful, vibrant and not to everyone's taste. Watch out for future releases with interest!
Details - Approx. price £30-35/ 46% ABV/ only 12000 bottles/ To read full post - click here

Part 2 will reveal our Top 5 whiskies of 2009, as well as others that just missed out but are deserving of a mention. It will be posted tomorrow.

New releases ... Hibiki 12 years old

The Hibiki are a series of blended whiskies from the Japanese company Suntory. They rose to prominence in 2008 when the 30 years old version won the 'Best Blended Whisky' category at the World Whisky Awards - the first time that a Japanese whisky had won such a prestigious prize. Suntory own two whisky distilleries in Japan - Yamazaki (Japan's oldest founded in 1923) and Hakushu, which was founded during the 1970s. The Hibiki are blends of single malts and grain whisky from these two distilleries and are released with minimum ages of 17 and 30 years. The 12 years old is a new addition to the range and has just been released in Europe, with London staged the official launch. Hibiki means 'harmony' in Japanese.

The first thing to note with the Hibiki series is the extraordinary bottle. It is a great mix of a whisky decanter and 1970s retro design. The 17 and 30 years old in the series are multi award winning whiskies so the 12 years old has a lot to live up to! Both are dark with sherry cask influence, but this is much lighter and fresher. The colour is a golden amber and the nose is very promising. It is fragrant with a fruitiness that is fresh rather than dried fruit (think of stone fruits like cherries and plums). There is vanilla and sweetness (think of honey) prominent also, with a hint of a peppery spiciness (imagine ground white pepper). The palate is refreshing, cleansing and mellow with lots of those fresh juicy fruit notes present (especially the plums) and these are underpinned by a soft barley sweetness. It has a crisp, short finish with that peppery spice coming through. It makes your mouth water and makes you want to drink some more!

The Hibiki 12 years old is a promising and very smooth whisky that we later discovered was partly matured in a Japanese plum liqueur cask (the liqueur is called Umeshu). This explains that fresh plumy fruitiness that is present. It would be a great one to introduce someone to whisky as it is light, refreshing and has interesting, almost unique, characteristics. This is available in specialist whisky retailers and some Japanese supermarkets and should cost £45-50 for bottle.