Hibiki Harmony got into markets replacing the 12 Year Old variety. As a no-age statement whisky, it may be offered to a broader audience, it resides in turmoil with endless comparisons to the whisky it replaced. Removing age statements gives producers flexibility making whisky (why should 12 years be the minimum age within the bottle?), it also produces a sense of distrust using the consumer familiar with traversing to a number about the bottle.

Harmony is softer, gentler, and offers a quieter complexity in comparison to the discontinued 12 year-old. There are whiskies that are had finest in a loud crowd, and whiskies you'll savor most using a small selection of of friends. Harmony is really a singular experience. It is the whisky that has a lot to express, but speaks quietly. Sure, it isn't really Hibiki 12, yet it's fairly simple which it has more to make available.

What's from the whisky?
Hibiki is the high-end blended brand from Beam Suntory. Hibiki 17 and 21 year old are beautiful whiskies, and the 21 is one of the best whiskies I've tasted. All Hibiki releases really are a mix of malted barley and grain whisky, with various kinds of oak used. This is the blend of malt from Yamazaki, Hakashu, and Chita whisky (mostly corn whisky). For barrels used, there's American oak, some sherry oak, and Japanese Mizunara oak.

While blended whisky gets to be a bad reputation, and Hibiki makes an effort to never market itself as such, it is really an illustration of why blended whiskies really should not be ignored.

Nose: Notes of a vanilla-citrus terrine. Wonderful caramel sweetness when combined bright orange zest, combined with heavier toasted spice notes. An authentic oaky spice starts the nose from a time, which offers you something quite different. It's buttery, carries a touch of char, nice vanilla, a certain amount of candied ginger added to a combination. A combination of vanilla citrus finishes over nose with time.

Palate: An attractive spread of oak tannins, vanilla sweetness, sharp pepper spice, plus a buttery finish. Honey, cinnamon, and nutmeg come through nicely. It's sharper about the palate than on the nose. The finish is gentle, and heavier with a combination of buttery-sweet and cinnamon spice.

Conclusion: The nose does wonders, and the palate is a bit more ordinary, but overall the top Hibiki you can buy available on the market. It's priced well in the market where the demand and supply chart for Japanese whisky is out-of-this-world.
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