A Brief History of Hibiki

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1989 Box Art

Suntory introduced their first Hibiki Whisky in April 1989, released to celebrate the 90^th Anniversary of the company.  The No Age Statement (NAS) premium blend at 43% Alcohol By Volume (ABV) carried a suggested retail price of ¥10,000.  Designated as “a masterful blend of specially aged whiskies with a mature full-bodied taste” on the front, the back label further elaborates that the contents are a mix of 30 different whiskies.  The unique bottle, with its 24 facets that reflect the hours in the day as well as all the ‘small seasons’ in the year, sported a medallion, a gold cap stopper, all packaged in a luxurious box.   

Originally, I assumed that Hibiki was Suntory’s answer to Johnnie Walker Blue, the worldwide big time premium blended whisky.  But the Blue wasn’t launched until 1992.  Turns out Hibiki was most likely a response to in-country rival Nikka and their Taketsuru Fortune ’80 premium blend.

2000 European Bottle + Box

In the 1990s, Hibiki made its way to the United States retailing for around $50, but appeared to have had little impact, with a similar story in Europe.  The stopper updated from gold cap to a faceted clear stopper, more in line with the bottle design.  In 1994, Hibiki 21 Year debuted, followed by Hibiki 30 Year in 1997.  And around this time, the original Hibiki NAS went from a mix of 30 different elements to 36 unique whiskies in the blend. 

2002 Japanese Label

At the turn of century, all Hibiki expressions transition from being labeled as “masterful blend” to “harmonious blend” – likely to be more in accord with the theme of sound surrounding the name. Hibiki translates to echo, music, sound, reverberation and space.  Also getting updated was the original NAS into an age-stated 17 year old.  In fact, the UPC barcode that had been used since the mid-1990s didn’t even change during this transition.  So, this is where confusion comes into play whether the original Hibiki was a 17-year expression all along.  I don’t believe it was.  I’m sure Suntory would have stated an age from the beginning if it qualified as such.  Not only was this common practice worldwide at the time, but that’s the case for other Suntory releases as well.

The highlight of this period for Hibiki has to be when the 17 Year Old was prominently featured in the motion picture, Lost In Translation.  Filmed in the fall of 2002, there's a frustratingly funny scene with Bill Murray as Bob Harris filming a commercial where he has to deliver a tagline, with intensity.  "For relaxing times, make it Suntory Time." 

A couple new expressions rounded out the decade.  First was the short-lived Non-Chill Filtered 50.5% ABV Hibiki 17, definitely ahead of its time.  In 2009, Hibiki 12 entered the scene and showcased whisky aged in ex-plum wine casks which was unique for the brand. Additionally, this was the decade where Hibki started to win awards in worldwide competitions. Hibiki 30 won multiple awards including Best Blended Whisky from World Whiskies Awards in 2007 and 2008.

Kacho Edition Version 2

The infamous Kacho Fugetsu editions started appearing at Duty Free shops in 2010.  The bottle and box of these Limited Editions of the 12, 17, 21, and 30 Year were uniquely designed to embody the beauty of Japanese nature.  In 2013, a couple Japanese bar-only releases, Deep Harmony and Mellow Harmony, could have been a precursor experiment that lead to the NAS Harmony in 2015 - which was also the same year that saw the discontinuation of the 12 Year expression.  Duty Free shops is also where you can find both the regular and Kacho editions of the Hibiki Harmony Master's Select, which is a slightly different blend than the regular release. 

The oldest Hibiki expression is the 35 Year Old, last released in 2016.  It's super limited and comes in unique ceramic bottles.  The 17 and 21 Year won a bunch of awards during the 2010s as well.  And another bar-only release came out in Japan in 2018, dubbed Blenders Choice.  Sadly, Hibiki 17 production has been suspended, another victim of dwindling aged whiskies in Japan.
2019 marks the 30th Anniversary of the brand -- Happy Birthday Hibiki!