Hibiki 21 Year Old is Suntory's 21-year blend of malt and grain whisky, bottled at 43%. It sits between the no-age-statement Japanese Harmony and the 30 Year Old in the current range, and was one of the drinks served to leaders at the 2016 G7 summit in Ise-Shima.
About This Whisky
The core of the blend is Yamazaki malt aged in white oak, mizunara and sherry casks, each component at least 21 years old, married with several Chita grain whiskies of the same minimum age. Mizunara, a Japanese oak, brings the sandalwood and incense notes Hibiki is known for, while the sherry casks add dried fruit and depth. Suntory lists gold medals for the 21 at the International Spirits Challenge in 2025 and again in 2026.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Stewed plum, blackcurrant, soft banana and warm caramel.
- Palate: Honeycomb and dried apricot, with sandalwood and the gentle spice of Japanese oak.
- Finish: Long, warm and slightly dry, with incense and dark chocolate.
Serving & Food
Pour about 30mL into a stemmed nosing glass at around 18°C and taste it as it is first. After a sip or two, one drop of water loosens the oak. Match it with Peking duck, wagyu sukiyaki, or dark chocolate with sea salt.
How to Enjoy
A celebration dinner, a landmark birthday, or a first serious taste of aged Japanese blending.
Product Details
Producer: House of Suntory
Expression: Hibiki 21 Year
Category: Japanese blended whisky
Age Statement: 21 years old
Blend Components: Yamazaki-led malt whiskies with Chita grain whisky
Cask: White oak, mizunara and sherry casks
Country: Japan
ABV: 43%
Volume: 700mL
About the Distillery
Suntory's story starts in Osaka in 1899, when Shinjiro Torii opened a shop selling imported wine. In 1923 he began building Yamazaki, between Kyoto and Osaka, the first malt whisky distillery in Japan. Fifty years on, his son Keizo Saji added a second malt distillery, Hakushu, set in forest at the foot of Mount Kaikomagatake in the Southern Alps.
Grain whisky comes from Suntory's Chita distillery. With two very different malt sites and its own grain, the company can build a blend entirely from whisky it made itself, and that is the basis of every Hibiki.