Hibiki 12 Year Old

Just finished my first 700ml bottle that's been at the back of my shelf for years. Still exceptional but not AU$600 so! I'd gladly trade my remaining four bottles for a similar value of Talisker 10 or 57' North. I doubt I'll be opening another bottle until my 20th wedding anniversary in nine years time if I'm even still around then!

15th August 2018

Must say this is a super drinkable wi dram. Wifey gave me this as a Christmas gift well done!👍

31st December 2016

Love me whisky - got one of these when it won awards - wondered what all the fuss was about - not disappointed one of my favs. lovely plummy woody sweet nose and a nice orangey / marmalade with a nice tingle at the end - beautiful. Great present for a whisky lover or a whisky party.

26th November 2016

Also, you can smell the fruit right away

23rd September 2016

An absolute delight. This is currently my favourite whisky.

27th July 2016

Great Taste for people who drink quality liquor

22nd July 2016

This is a pretty nice expression from Hibiki. I prefer this to the 17 yo. I have now collected 6 bottles. Yummy

17th July 2016

Det finns starka skäl till att denna fantastiskt högkvalitativa dryck är slut. Ta in den till Sverige igen

9th March 2016

Present for xmas,"almost" too nice to drink

9th February 2016

Nice but not in the same league as Macallan would be better sold in 70cl bottles

9th January 2016

Can't wait to savor the 17 - saving it for a special occasion.

28th December 2015

The first Japanese whisky that I tried - and although I have tried better since (namely the Yamazaki 12) this is still one of my favourites. Fantastic. I have also bought a bottle of the Hibiki 17 but I'm saving that for a special occasion!

18th November 2015

Quite bland if you ask me. It really needs those extra years you get in the 17 yo to fully develop the Hibiki characteristics.

13th September 2015

Japansk single malt och även nu blend konkurrerar helt ut den övriga marknaden. Fantastiska smaker och med is känner man verkligen hur smakerna lyfter. Skotsk whiskey blir på sin höjd kyld men inget mer. Hakushu, yamazaki, yoichi och nu även denna munsbit. Trist att Systembolaget i Sverige inte har den på hyllan, dom skulle nog ha det. Den går dock att beställa från Systembolaget.

23rd August 2015

Rich, complex and sweetness from the plum. One of the best whiskies i ever tasted, but ice makes It even flavours. Just the bottle is worth buying.

23rd August 2015

Complex and smooth at the same time, no 12 y.o scotch blend is even near this in terms of quality.

8th August 2015

I first heard of The Suntory distillery on the booze traveler on the travel channel. After Jack Maxwell disclosed the place for me I was immediately captivated and absolutely and to try some. yes it is pricey yes it does sell very fast, even on the internet. The Japanese are a very advanced culture and their whiskey is no exception. This stuff can easy put the best of Lynchburg, Tennessee to shame.

7th June 2015

Absolutely smooth and full flavoured. Fully recommended

1st June 2015

For a 12yr blend it is superb. Yamazaki 12yr is better because it has a full complex body. When you try this compare it to other blends not single malts. But the fact is it's still better than most 12yr single malt Scotland whiskeys

23rd May 2015

Good, a litle thin nose but the plum saves it all. Love the fresh fruity tastes of the Japanese whiskies.
This one is the best blens I ever tasted.

8th May 2015

Just the bottle design is worth it!

8th May 2015

Fantastic! A bit thin nose, but I like that in this blend. The plum save it all. Love the frutiness and the cherry, plum of the Japanese whiskies. Its a blend, not a single malt.

8th May 2015

I wish I bought all of the bottles off of the shelf!

3rd May 2015

Även Japansk blend håller en överlägsen klass. Jag är imponerad över vilka smaker de får fram, har inte känt dess like i någon Skottska Whiskey trots 25 år av provande.
Köp!!!

15th April 2015

I am, as we speak drinking Hibiki 12 year old scotch. On this webpage, labeling for the nose, palate, and finish are very different from that on the box in front of me. Haven't had that much yet, really.

5th March 2015

a wonderful whisky for those who appreciate some refined subtleness in their drink. those who prefer a kick in the senses should probable look somewhere else. The Hibki is elegant and bodied with aromas full of sweet fruit and roasted nut slight cherry/plum oakiness. add a touch of water, and the layers of aroma changes, magnificent.

1st March 2015

Definietly drinkable, but like some of the other reviewers have pointed out, it is quite flat and nothing special at all. I had heard a lot about Japanese whisky and was eager to try it but was ultimately left feeling disappointed.

8th February 2015

First taste is a oak, followed by apricot, plum, and rose. Finished with complex smokey hues of burnt cherry. Some whiskeys just have the magic factor, and this one does. Needs to be drunk from a large open whiskey glass with a wide bowl. Swirl a few times to open it up and start with the fragrance. Needs a couple of minutes to get the full effect. Magical!

5th January 2015

Received as a gift from my Japanese friend Mr. Jinya , but I have to give this to my any non Muslim friend as Alcohol is strictly prohibited in my religion.

4th January 2015

Bought this on a whim as the price was right ($59). That being said, it left me very flat. A bit of a let down for my first Japanese distilled whisky.

1st December 2014

Just ok and non descript. Opens up with a bit of water, but nothing to write home about.

29th November 2014

Just yummy. Brings a smile to my face.

16th November 2014

recently drank this brand in barcelona spain
best scotch i ever had

6th November 2014

Not a fan of scotch but love bourbon. Hibiki is a wonderful mix of the two that is quite unique and peppery. My first taste was in Tokyo 5 years ago and took it neat. Needs ice and an ever-so slight splash of water and you found heaven.

14th August 2014

color: golden amber
nose: herbal and fruity, oaky, bourbon like nose
palate: fruity delivery quickly gives way to honey and dried fruit
finish: medium length, oaky notes at the end

A well balanced and entertaining whisky

9th August 2014

Il me laisse sans voix : arôme, saveur, fort et doux à la fois. J'en boirai ... trop ! Juste parfait.

26th July 2014

Very smooth. Tasty.

13th June 2014

just wow, I mean, wow. like the dew drops on a leave in a forest morning, this drop is like gods tears. I really pitched a tent after this sauce. it was like a geisha had caressed my cubes. 10 out of 10 for slurpability

26th April 2014

My son is an experienced barman. He knows whiskies and bought me this for my birthday. Honestly, I have had a load of different malts and this one is right up there with the best. Indeed, it's one of the few that I would go out of my way to replace. I've just poured the last dram. Shame.

3rd April 2014

As far av premium blends go, this ranks as one of the best for me.
Very good all around indeed.
Will buy again - and not just for the nice bottle.

21st March 2014

The nose is very strong on this, and not pleasant to what i am accustom to enjoying on the nose with my scotches normally.I bought this because i had seen some good reviews and if nothing else it has a beautiful bottle.
After cracking open the bottle throwing a few cubes of ice in my glass and pouring into the glass i enjoyed 3 completely different tastes from this whiskey. Initially very pronounced flavors with an incredibly smooth finish. After a the whiskey started to cool off in the ice the warm smooth finish was toned down and replaced with a much more subtle flavor with very little bite, however that incredibly smooth finish was now not the forefront of this whiskey. As the ice began to melt a bit it changed the flavor again, making every ounce of the flavor of the whiskey really pop out for me. I enjoyed it overall, however the unpleasant nose on this whiskey is one that will cause me to stay away from hibiki for future purchases. I will stick to my highland scotches

17th February 2014

By far the smoothest blended whisky....

24th January 2014

just like to echo Steve McGiff's notes, I couldn't stop smelling this whisky and I knew I recognised the smell, rum & raisin ice cream, 2 bottles in and I decided to try the 17 year old which I found even nicer. Both great.

6th January 2014

ok noting wrong with the bottle MOM plz remove my last review spent a bit more time with this whisky just not for me.Something different a change worth a try.

20th December 2013

just receive a bottle of this today and 3 others only get to open 2 so my benromach 10 just wonderfull i open this hibiki and not to impressed the bottom of the cork is a differnt colour to the rest of the cork darker maybe that is it or its not to my taste any help lads

13th December 2013

After 12 rounds and many a sore head.... and many light weight encounters as well.... its went to points...... Yamazaki 95% Hibiki 95% .... nothing can separate these two 12 year olds... not even price.... maybe the Hibiki shades it on the bottle! (I use it to collect £1 coins in to funds my whiskey purchasing adventures) But you cant have a bottle style help...... If so Id never have bought the All Malt.... which is a frontrunner at £10 less.... Jason Breen

1st November 2013

I'm a USAmerican, and (admittedly) a "snob" when it comes to malt-based liquor; I won't drink whiskey unless it's from the island of Ireland, and -- until now -- I wouldn't drink Scotch whisky unless it was from Scotland. (The bourbon-type liquors sold under those monikers by North American producers is, in my experience and to my palate, too inferior to deserve the name.) But when my spouse and I went to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants recently, the server mentioned they had recently added "a Japanese scotch" to their offerings, and we were too intrigued not to inquire further. The bartender brought over the lovely decanter, I asked to smell the cork... and it was love at first whiff! We enjoyed a dram of it together (neither of us are remotely heavy drinkers) and found it to make an excellent "sipping whiskey" with its profound complexity and warm sweetness. That it could have done with a touch less "fire" is my only criticism; though it's entirely possible my palate had simply grown unaccustomed to "neat" liquor again, as I mainly imbibe scotch and whiskey in the colder months, when I drink it at all. Though my preference is always for unadulterated scotch and whiskey, I did try the Hibiki 12 Year Old with water after a while, and the completely different array of complexly-layered flavors and aroma made me fall in love all over again! I can't recommend this blend highly enough -- for those who enjoy fine scotch and/or whiskey in the first place -- and will definitely consider acquiring a bottle of my own... even though, at the rate I drink, it would likely last a lifetime.

11th September 2013

Beautiful decanter for a bottle and the juice inside is worthy of such a sexy bottle. Oranges, Marmalade and Plums, Nutty honey & sponge cake!

22nd August 2013

Smell and taste: ume plum wine (umeshu), pineapple and honey, very sweet.
If you don't like whiskey maybe you like this.

30th May 2013

Sophisticated and exotic, Hibiki exudes the most wonderful collection of aromas and tastes. As a student, this one is very special and it will be a while before I can work my up through the range but if this is anything to go by, it will be worth the wait! Nose: Spring blossom and green freshness. Notes of plum and exotic spices (lotus, ginger?). Hint of raspberry, honey and sweet maltiness. Palate: Strong but subtle, extremely fragrant and sweet, balanced by spicy ginger and oak notes. Lively and velvet smooth with defined vanilla and honey notes. Cereal sweetness is held in check by more robust oak and rich exotic fruitiness, particularly raspberry and plum. Finish: Very long, sweet with an enduring spiciness - you are left in no doubt that you have had something very special.

18th April 2013

Firstly the bottle i thought was very impressive.
But what got me most was the nose, seriously i couldn't stop smelling it.
The taste was very busy, but in a remarkable manner.
Layer's of taste's
Going back to the nose, i got bag's of rum and raison ice cream
The vanilla was abundant.
Smooth clean taste, distinctive to the japanese.
I just loved it, smiled with every sniff and taste.......

Stephen McGiff,
Cornwall......

21st March 2013

I have a bottle of this, awaiting my arrival home
cannot wait to taste it
I am getting a very big respect for japanese whiskey
Yamazaki, 10yr, 12 yr,18 yr, are remarkable
I could not stop smelling the dram
Very moorish indeed.......Steve mcGiff, cornwall.........

12th February 2013

Now this is a whiskey, where every single drop counts. Very very smooth, sweet and fruity. The finish is just going and going and going...:D Japanese are obviously the masters and perfectionists in everything they touch. Go get your own bottle, this one is mine :D.

4th October 2012

This is an absolute peach of a dram. It is distinctly Japanese and has something really special about it. I'd thoroughly recommend it; a good one for blind tastings.

20th May 2011

I've tasted a few Japanese drams so far and none were disappointing! This one was the best by far.
This Hibiki 12 Year Old is a so-called premium blend, because it contains (besides grain whisky as packer) no less than 30 different single malts that are at least 12 years of age, topped off with a 30-year old! The dram has matured on Japanese oak first and finished in so-called Umeshu cask, previously used for the maturing of Japan's famous plum brandy.
The whole went through a process of charcoal filtering - through bamboo wood no less - that gives the whole it's mellow, soft taste.
It was launched in 2009 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Suntory Hibiki distillery.
The influence of the Umeshu cask is clearly detectable on the nose. Apart from plum, raspberry and pineapple, one also gets hit by very sweet honey and a truckload of vanilla.
On the palate, a duel is going on between the oak and the barley. What a body. Very good indeed.
The finish is nicely spiced and long. The sweet oak prevents the dram from burning down your throat.Mmmm very moreish.
The word 'Hibiki' has several meanings in Japanese, one of them being 'harmonious'. That's a good way to describe this premium blend. Available at other retailers for around £45.

21st December 2010