Suntory to release new Hibiki whisky expression

Suntory has announced the release of a new Hibiki whisky expression, following the news that the distillery discontinued production of its ‘Hibiki 17 Year Old’ and ‘Hakushu 12 Year Old’.

The new whisky called ‘The Hibiki Blender’s Choice’ will come in 700ml bottles and will be released for the domestic Japanese market on 4 September, reported Forbes.

This will be the distillery’s third whisky with no age indication following ‘Hibiki Japanese Harmony’ and ‘Hibiki Japanese Harmony Master’s Select’.

The new whisky will be a blend of selected vintages.

According to the company, the addition of a few wine cask-aged whiskies in the blend “delivers a round, well-balanced profile and immense depth”.

Last month, the company’s announcement it was discontinuing its two single malt whiskies sent shock waves through the whisky world, due to strong demand at home and abroad that outstripped the distillery’s production capacity.

However, the company noted that it the two expressions might come back in the future.

In 2015, Suntory suspended sale of ‘Hibiki 12 Years Old’, and a year later it removed thr ‘Kakubin Black Label 43 Degrees’ brand.