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Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Suntory Toki versus Hibiki Japanese Harmony

Though Kakubin is likely their biggest seller, due to its budget pricing in Asia, Hibiki has long been positioned as the king of Suntory's Japanese blended whiskies, its luxury blend with big prices and gorgeous decanters. Not too long after Suntory phased out their single malts' age statements, the company followed suit with Hibiki. The 21, 17 and 12 faded out and Hibiki Japanese Harmony faded in by 2016.

As Hibiki Japanese Harmony arrived in the US, so did a new Suntory blend, Toki. "Toki" means "time". So yes, it is in fact Suntory Time. Though I'm usually not seduced by marketing fluff, I really enjoyed the erotic highball videos on Toki's official site. So I bought a bottle. And finished it in three weeks. Normally I don't even finish a bottle in three months. I'm not going lavish Toki with superlatives regarding its quality. When neat it's very sippable (likely designed for relaxing times), but it seems well-engineered for its actual advertised purpose, the highball. If you're wondering what I mean by "well-engineered", may I refer you back to the fact that the whisky vaporized down my gullet in record time.

What I didn't do during the bottle's brief life was conduct an official tasting. Luckily I saved a sample. 

Meanwhile, I sourced a sample of Hibiki Japanese Harmony just this month. I've been underwhelmed by Suntory's NAS single malts and found Japanese Harmony Master's Select to fall short of the old 12's quality.

It's time for the two blends to meet in the Thunderdome that is my hermetically-sealed whisky tasting cave.



Brand: Suntory
Ownership: Beam Suntory
Type: Blended whisky
Country: Japan
Distilleries: Yamazaki and Hakushu for malt, Chita for grain
Age: ???
Maturation: ???
Alcohol by Volume: 43%

NEAT NOTES

I normally don't comment on color, but this stuff is as pale as straw. The nose is peachy and grassy with mellow notes of walnuts and orange Smarties. It's all very light with neither ethyl nor The Turps. The palate begins with crisp limey citrus, hints of malt and salt, then almond cookies and cashews. It starts tilting grainier after 30 minutes. The simple, warm finish shows salt, limes, toasted grains, a hint of graphite and touch of sourness in the back.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

As I inferred above, this works very well in highball form, all crisp, citrussy and refreshing. You may blanch at the idea of spending $40 on a mixing whisky, but do keep in mind this is the cheapest whisky Suntory has in The States and it's (probably) 100% Japanese whisky. It also works pretty well neatly, especially in late summer months. The nose is light and pretty; the palate is cuddlier than the major 12-year-old scotch blends. The finish is its weakest element, showing signs of considerable Chita grain, but it still beats most of those scotch blends. I'll buy another bottle of Toki when spring comes around.

Availability - Widespread, even at supermarkets or state liquor shops
Pricing - $30-$50, though usually around $40
Rating - 82


Brand: Hibiki
Ownership: Beam Suntory
Type: Blended whisky
Country: Japan
Distilleries: Yamazaki and Hakushu for malt, Chita for grain
Age: ???
Maturation: ???
Alcohol by Volume: 43%

NEAT NOTES

While Toki was the color of straw, Japanese Harmony is gold. The whisky, I mean. At first the nose is loaded with Elmer's glue and paint VOCs. After 10 minutes those notes recede bringing lemons, grains, vanilla and new carpet. A few musty sherry casks appear after 30 minutes, as do hints of canned peaches, soap and metal. In additional to being lightly sweet and tangy, the palate offers up a note that sits somewhere between ground pepper and coal dust. Some orange juice as well. Compared to Toki, it has a harsher alcohol bite. The brief finish has oranges, flowers and toasted oak. It's also much more cloying than the palate would lead one to believe.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

While it's not a particularly great drinker when neat, Japanese Harmony does make for a good malty, nutty highball. But it's ninety-freaking-dollars. Should we not expect a little more for our money than "It goes well with a little club soda"? Like Suntory's NAS single malts, this Hibiki falls substantially short of its 12-year-old predecessor.

Availability - Most specialty retailers
Pricing - $75-$120(!)
Rating - 77 (lifted up a few points by its highball)



FINAL THOUGHTS

Suntory's blenders have done good work on Toki which beats a lot of scotch blends at its price point, both as a sipper and mixer. It was $34.99 in my state, so I took a risk on it and was pleased by the results. Hibiki Japanese Harmony is $99.99 here, but I wouldn't pay half that. The only Hibiki premium I can see is its nice decanter, though Toki's rectangle isn't half bad. If you spy Toki at a bar (whenever you do go back to a bar again) give it a try in a cocktail or highball or straight up. I do not encourage you to do the same with Harmony, especially if you're a Hibiki fan from years past.