Hibiki is one of the most well-known and expensive Japanese blended whiskies. Spirit produced at Yamazaki, Hakushu and Chita distilleries – all owned by Suntory – contribute to the distinctive profile.

Hibiki 1:1

Hibiki is one of the most well-known and expensive blended Japanese whiskies. Browse Hibiki bottlings

Hibiki Japanese blended whisky

About Hibiki

Hibiki 

Japanese whisky shortages have made the headlines once again and these days, it no longer comes as a shock to see another iconic Japanese whisky discontinued.  Over the past twenty years a fanatic, ever-growing fan base has risen around Japanese whisky. While the category deserves nothing less, this increased popularity continues to deplete the remaining stock from Japan's largest and most popular producers. 
 Following the footsteps of the Hibiki 12, Hibiki 17, Hakushu 12-year-old, and aged Yoichi and Miyagikyo expressions, Nikka has just announced the discontinuation of the Taketsuru Pure Malt blended range. The entire Taketsuru range will be coming off the shelves, from the affordable Taketsuru Pure Malt NAS, to the multiple award-winning aged expressions, the
25, 21, and 17-year-old. In 2019, Nikka also discontinued their popular Nikka Coffey Malt, Coffey Grain, and Nikka 12.  Discontinuations of Japanese whisky come almost every other month. Yet, for such a successful category, led by some of the world’s largest drinks companies one question arises - Why is this happening? After Suntory's Yamazaki 12-year-old brought in the first international award at the 2003 International Spirits Challenge, the floodgates opened, and accolades for Japanese whisky haven't stopped since. “World’s best single malt”, “World’s best blended whisky”, “World’s best single cask single malt”; Japan has topped almost every style category. Yet, before this success on the global stage the Japanese whisky industry was suffering. The rise of beer and Japan's own spirit, shochu, in the ‘80s saw whisky sales crash domestically. Being a rather closed-off nation, Japanese whisky makers like Suntory and Nikka never imagined their products would be sought after abroad and thus continued to produce whisky with the newly uninterested, domestic market in mind.  Production was dramatically reduced, and this has caused the current lack of well-aged stock we are experiencing today. Nikka, who has now stopped producing the Taketsuru range, halted production at their distilleries for two years. The late 80s were a period of great economic strain and uncertainty for the Japanese whisky industry and while most pushed forward, some distilleries had to shut down near the turn of the millennium. One such
case was the Karuizawa distillery, and the events surrounding this brand after its closure truly speak for Japanese whisky as a whole. After the aforementioned awards, the world began to notice Japanese whisky. Suntory led the charge with the Yamazaki, Hibiki, and Hakushu brands while Nikka came through with punchier, more Islay-esque expressions from Yoichi. Karuizawa’s remaining stock, in the hands of some successful and forward-thinking entrepreneurs, grew into one the most collected whisky brands in the world today. Awards, interest, and companies with a goal to push Japanese whisky abroad dynamically entered the industry and today Japanese whisky
is one of the rarest, most admired categories in the global whisky industry. Karuizawa has topped the charts, with their very final casks expected to be bottled in 2020. Suntory and Nikka continue to remove their most famed expressions from the shelves, further indicating that their dwindling supply means they are also likely to be discontinued at some point in the near future.  However, smaller producers, like the Chichibu distillery, have amassed a cult-like fan base despite producing and releasing much younger aged whiskies. The popularity surrounding no age statement or young three to eight-year-old releases, show that age in Japanese whisky is not everything. Well not exactly - with an age statement attached, prices skyrocket. The Taketsuru discontinuation shows clearly that Japanese whisky's popularity is continuing, and producers still can't keep up.  From a collector's point of view, the news will only see the prices of Taketsuru Pure Malt rise and as a result, this will bring up most other Japanese blended whiskies with it. For drinkers, sadly, this will make one of their favourite, go-to expressions harder to find and quite a bit
pricier. The tale of Japanese whisky has been an eventful one, to say the least. While discontinuations and stock depletion isn't the best news for whisky lovers, it’s all part of the story that has made Japan’s whisky what it is. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics are on the horizon. Rumour has it many distilleries will be releasing special bottlings and hosting events as the world's eye focuses on Tokyo. Looking ahead, 2020 may be the most exciting year for Japanese whisky yet, so stay tuned. Discover all currently available Japanese whisky or read more Editorial

We explore the ever-increasing supply and demand issues currently plaguing Japanese whisky producers. 

Examining the ever-increasing supply and demand issues plaguing Japanese whisky, including the discontinuation of Nikka's Taketsuru range and Coffey series

Exploring Japanese whisky shortages 

Caught short: Japanese whisky 

The release price of the latest Yamazaki 55 Year Old, announced last week, is the last thing collectors are concerned about since it will be immediately dwarfed by secondary market pricing. In the spirit of fairness, Suntory is selling the limited 100 bottles through a ballot that started on February 5th and will end on the 14th. The bottles will come in the standard
700ml size, at 46% ABV and will be distributed via a ballot only to Japanese citizens. 
 Released in the year of the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympics, this release will go down in history as the oldest Japanese whisky ever made. Each bottle of 55 will be engraved with the owner's name, simply to limit selling on the secondary market. Why? Well, because there are astronomical profits to be made immediately after release. 
 The Yamazaki distillery’s oldest whiskies to date are the three versions of the Yamazaki 50-Year-Old. The 2005 edition came first, followed by another in 2007 and the last one in 2011. Watching the auction world closely, we see that, as expected, the first edition commands the highest price surpassing US$430,000 at a recent live auction in Asia. The 2007 comes second, with the 2011 third, now trading for approximately US$300,000 and steadily rising. This is extraordinary, when the retail prices were between US$15,000-30,000 six to
seven years before.

In previous years, new releases under a certain range often drove up prices of the pre-existing, often more aged bottles. For example, Hibiki Blender's Choice drove up the 17, 21, and 30 Year Old bottlings. Therefore it is likely the new 55-year-old release will drive up the prices of the previously released 50-year-old while rapidly appreciating in value, too. The most interesting point will be the extra 5 years of maturation and if this will send the new
release skyrocketing in value, eventually even surpassing the Yamazaki 50.  Japanese whisky makers in general work strategically in discontinuing popular aged ranges and replacing them with non-age statement expressions. This helps them better manage the scarcity of aged stock and thus sending brand value soaring. The Japanese whisky market works slowly and carefully, and this new Yamazaki release is yet another strategy for long-term gains.

The Yamazaki 55 ballot is currently running. The release is only available for Japan residents, so sadly it will be out of reach for the rest of the world. However, we do have access to other releases.   Explore all current Yamazaki listings and read more Editorial 

We look at how the 100 bottles of Yamazaki 55 Year Old are to be distributed in Japan and the potential knock-on effect this release will have on other Yamazaki releases and the Japanese whisky market more generally.

Exploring the potential knock-on effect Suntory's limited release of Yamazaki 55 Year Old will have on the wider Japanese whisky market.

Examining the Yamazaki 55 Year Old

Exploring the limited release of Yamazaki 55 Year Old

Closed Japanese whisky distillery Karuizawa is a phenomenon. For its entire operational life, it was barely known inside of Japan, let alone internationally. Yet today, its whiskies are recognised globally as amongst the finest and most age-worthy ever bottled and today is one of the most sought-after labels in the burgeoning rare whisky investment market. Bottles of Karuizawa continue to break all the records. Just last month a bottle of Karuizawa 52YO (1960) Cask #5627 became the most expensive Japanese whisky ever sold at auction, a single 70cl bottle selling for £366,000. So, what is it that drives the demand and what qualities do bottles of Karuizawa possess which others don’t?  Like most whisky distilleries, its origins are humble, and the astonishing demand is relatively new, closely paralleling the upward trajectory of the rare whisky market over the past ten years.  Limited production  By Scottish whisky distillery standards, Karuizawa had a short lifespan. Established in 1955 it was operational for only 46 years before being closed in 2001, a consequence of an economic slump domestically which impacted an industry with limited exports at the time.  Although now synonymous with single malts, the first spirit to leave the still in 1956 was destined for blending and this continued until a switch in focus and the release of its first single malt in 1976. At the time Karuizawa was said to be Japan’s smallest distillery and so the relatively short years it was active, coupled with a relatively low capacity to produce single malt, led to an always limited amount of whisky on the market. Moreover, after lying dormant for well over a decade, Karuizawa was eventually demolished in 2016 by its then-owners Kirin
Brewing Co, dashing any hopes of a revival. Karuizawa's unique character  Fitting for such an extraordinary distillery was its extraordinary location on the southern slopes of one of Japan’s most active (category A) volcanoes – Mount Asama. Named after the town in which it was based, Karuizawa is under two hours by train northwest of Tokyo and at the time of writing is the only town to have hosted both summer and winter Olympic Games
events.  The cold snowy winters, summers with up to 80% humidity and cool average annual temperature of eight degrees, creates specific atmospheric conditions ideal for whisky maturation. These conditions have been credited with creating the unique characteristics of Karuizawa single malt – the ability to age gracefully for many decades, whist retaining an abnormally high alcoholic strength and concentrated complex flavour. In terms of raw materials, it is rumoured that The Macallan may have been the inspiration. It is certain
that they sourced the same grain and wood having imported Golden Promise barley
from Britain and Sherry casks from Spain. Distribution  Had it not been for the formation of specialist Japanese whisky distributor Number One Drinks Co. in 2006, it is quite possible Karuizawa would have never entered whisky enthusiasts’ consciousness on the scale it has today. Founded by Marcin Miller and David Croll, it was after a cask sampling session in 2009 and after learning production had ceased, that they bid to purchase the distillery. The bid was rejected but a counterbid to
purchase the inventory was accepted after protracted negotiations making Number
One Drinks Co both owner and distributor of Karuizawa whisky.    Export markets beckoned and soon London-based retailer The Whisky Exchange and Parisian-based retailer La Maison Du Whisky would be blown away by what was presented to them and began bottling casks for an initially sceptical European market. Quality cannot be ignored however and a joint bottling in 2009 by the aforementioned retailers was compared with some legendary Scotch whisky bottlings when reviewed by respected whisky blogger Serge Valentin describing the Karuizawa 42YO (1967) Cask #6426 as “a Japanese masterpiece… once again, this baby reminds me of some old Springbanks. Say of the best sherried ‘Local Barleys’, if that rings a bell to you.” 95 points. Karuizawa-mania ensued, fuelled also by the success Japanese whisky was experiencing as a category on the international stage, most notably Hibiki and Yamazaki scooping numerous ‘World’s Best’ awards and receiving critical acclaim including the famous Jim Murray Whisky Bible award for Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2013 Edition, reported in the mainstream media as ‘Japan beats Scotland’.  The finite supply, increasing demand and sheer quality of the whisky meant Number One Drinks Co had an increasingly valuable commodity. Ever the purist, Marcin is reported to have soon tired of the spiralling secondary market prices and decided to sell off what remained of the reported 364 casks they originally owned and went on to found Japan’s first-ever gin distillery (Kyoto Distillery) trailblazing within a new category with Ki-No-Bi gin.    Presentation You’d be forgiven for being a little underwhelmed by the presentation of some early releases of Karuizawa. A case in point is the previously mentioned Karuizawa 42YO (1967) Cask #6426, which at the time was the oldest Japanese whisky. Now retailing for £20,000 inc VAT, it consists of little more than a glass bottle, white sticker label and thin cardboard box. At
the time of release however there was no precedent for the returns Karuizawa would achieve on the secondary market and at a release price of £250, considered expensive at the time, most were indeed opened and drunk.  Today, the most high-profile releases of Karuizawa are collected and displayed like works of art. The Karuizawa Pearl Geisha’s by Elixir Distillers are a stunning example of how the presentation can entice collectors and send secondary markets into a frenzy. They were a 2019 release exclusive to FINE+RARE and consisted of just 71 bottles of a 37YO Karuizawa and 172 bottles of a 38YO. When these two bottles are placed side by side, the
labels form a mirrored image of a Geisha visually as impressive as the whisky itself.  These were the fourth release in the series so not only were collectors desperate to get their hands on these two but also the previous editions and any future ones.  The future of Karuizawa No one knows exactly how many ‘new’ Karuizawa releases there will be. The remaining casks Number One Drinks sold are said to have gone to three buyers who control the market and have been releasing intermittently since. What we can be sure of is there is very little left to be bottled and we are witnessing the final years of releases after which the number of bottles in the market will only decrease year on year.  The story of Karuizawa is already legendary and it is one which cannot be repeated. For future generations of whisky enthusiasts all that will be left is the ever-decreasing supply and the chapter of Karuizawa in the history of Japanese whisky. In addition to the final releases however, there will be whisky for future generations which is intrinsically linked to Karuizawa.  Although the distillery site was completely demolished, the pot stills that created the unique ‘new make’ were rescued and are already producing spirit which is being laid down at Shizuoka Distillery. There was also one final run in the old distillery site in 2006 by Ichiro Akuto of Chichibu Distillery fame. A 2006 distilled Karuizawa crafted by Ichiro Akuto is something that we hope to one day see.   Browse all available Karuizawa or read more Editorial 

Bottles of Karuizawa continue to break all the records. Just last month a bottle of Karuizawa 52YO (1960) Cask #5627 became the most expensive Japanese whisky ever sold at auction when a 70cl bottle sold for £366,000. So, what is it that drives this demand? We investigate

Closed Japanese whisky distillery Karuizawa is a phenomenon. Find out about the distillery that has produced some of the world's finest bottlings

Karuizawa, Japan's most expensive whisky

Karuizawa: Japan's most expensive whisky

Hibiki

Japan

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