A 35-year-old Hibiki blend from Suntory, bottled in a porcelain decanter made by the Kutani potter Tokuda Yasokichi III. The edition ran to 150 bottles, and the decanter is named Hekiyo (碧陽).
About This Whisky
Tokuda Yasokichi III (1933 to 2009) came from a family of Kutani potters in Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture, and was named a Living National Treasure in 1997 for his saiyu glazing. The technique layers coloured enamels so that they melt into soft gradients in the kiln. He built his palette from four of the five traditional Kutani colours, blue, purple, green and yellow, and left out red. For Suntory he made a water-drop-shaped decanter in his yosai style, filled with Hibiki aged at least 35 years and bottled at 43%. Each one comes in a wooden presentation case.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Ripe dried apricot, sandalwood and beeswax, with incense and old polished oak.
- Palate: Soft and rounded. Honey, stewed plum and a gentle Mizunara spice sit over a silky grain texture.
- Finish: Long and quiet, fading on cedar, vanilla and a faint bitter-orange note.
Serving & Food
Keep it neat and unchilled in a small tulip glass; at 43% it needs no water. Pour a modest measure and take it slowly. Candied chestnuts, aged Mimolette or a plain slice of kasutera sit well beside it.
How to Enjoy
A centrepiece for a Japanese craft collection, where the decanter is as much the point as the whisky inside it.
Product Details
Producer: House of Suntory
Style: Blended Japanese whisky
Age Statement: 35 years old
Edition: Tokuda Yasokichi III artist edition, decanter named Hekiyo
Decanter: Kutani porcelain, saiyu (yosai) glaze
Edition Size: 150 bottles
ABV: 43%
Country: Japan
Volume: 700mL
About the Distillery
Hibiki means "resonance" in Japanese. Suntory launched the brand in 1989 to mark the company's 90th year, starting with a 17-year-old blend and adding a 21-year-old in 1994 and a 30-year-old in 1997. The idea behind the name is that many whiskies, each with its own voice, are blended into one balanced whole.
Malt comes from Suntory's Yamazaki and Hakushu distilleries and grain whisky from Chita. The blenders can also draw on an unusually wide cask cellar, including Japanese Mizunara oak, which is slow-growing, hard to work into casks and prized for its incense and sandalwood notes.