Hibiki 17 Year Old Kacho Fugetsu Limited Edition

Suntory are one of the founding fathers of Japanese whisky, established by Shinjirō Torii in 1899 as a wine store in Osaka. The venture was hugely successful, and the company was renamed Kotobukiya in 1921, which built its first distillery three years later, Yamazaki. The distillery produced both malt and grain whiskies which the company blended together, releasing its first Suntory White Label in 1929, the resulting popularity of which saw the firm renamed after it 1963. Expansion in the next decade saw the company move its grain production to a new Chita distillery in 1972, and open a second malt distillery, Hakushu, the following year. Suntory today has a large stake in both the bourbon and Scotch whisky industry, but remains at the forefront of its native whisky market too.

This is Suntory's most popular blend, the Hibiki. Launched in 1989, it contains malt whisky from Yamazaki and Hakushu, and grain from the Chita distillery. It was developed by fourth generation chief blender Shinji Fukuyo with production overseen by third generation master blender and great-grandson of the founder, Shingo Torii, and is presented in a bottle with 24 facets representing the 24 seasons of the Japanese lunar calendar. The 17 year old was joined in the original lineup by a 21 year old and a non-age statement. The latter both still exist in one form or another, but this expression was discontinued in 2018 after unprecedented demand for Japanese whiskies created wholesale stock shortages within even its largest companies.

This limited edition follows the theme of Kacho Fugetsu, the Japanese Kanji for Flowers, Birds, Breeze, and Lunar. This bottle is designed to embody the beauty of Japanese nature.