Hibiki 21 Year Old Mount Fuji 1st Edition

A 1st Edition of the Hibiki 21 Year Old Mount Fuji release.

Known as the best blended whisky in the world on several occasions, its sweet and fruity character reveals more complex aromas than its 17-year-old. Its aging in barrels of Mizurana, a Japanese oak, gives it a pleasant softness and a nice roundness. Voted Best Blended Whisky of the World at the World Whisky Awards in 2010, 2011 and 2013 and Gold Medal at the International Wine & Spirit Competition in 2011.

Hibiki

First released in 1989 as a celebration of Suntory’s 90th anniversary, the Hibiki blend has become known around the world for its truly outstanding quality of malt and grain whiskies. Created from a mixture of Yamazaki and Hakushu malt whisky combined with grain whisky from the Chita distillery, 5 different cask varieties are said to be used including American oak bourbon casks, Sherry casks and Mizunara oak casks.Just as famous as the whisky itself is the bottle that its presented in. With 24 different sides, it is said to represent both the 24 hours in the day and the 24 micro seasons in the Japanese calendar. The name Hibiki translates to “Echo” and came about when Suntory commissioned a Japanese designer in 1986 to create a new logo for the Suntory concert hall. Even the labels used on the Hibiki bottles are premium in their design, made from Washi paper which is a traditional Japanese paper handcrafted from local products.

The Hibiki brand has undergone a number of changes throughout its lifetime, originally being a non age statement bottling before the development of the 12, 17, 21 and infamous 30 Year Old age stated series. These bottlings have won a substantial amount of awards within the last decade or so, beating out nearly every other blend on the market in their categories. As the demand for Hibiki has risen however, Suntory has been unable to maintain its supply. Consequently, as has become the norm for Japanese whisky, the development of non-age statement products was required. This saw many of the age-stated Hibiki's discontinued and replaced instead with products such as the Harmony and Blender’s choice. Suntory often releases special edition varieties of the Hibiki range with unique bottles adorned in iconography from Mt Fuji to the animals of Japan. These releases have become increasingly desired as collectors across the world seek to acquire these limited edition bottles.