Suntory Hibiki Japanese Harmony. This is a delicious whisky, and one of very few bottles (of anything!) that we’ve really gone through and repurchased (it’s hard to go thru bottles when you have a pretty sizable collection!). It’s sweet with honey notes and a juicy floralness.

Japanese whisky is closest to Scotch, as it started out essentially as a Japanese attempt at creating the whiskies found in Scotland. Although commercial production of whisky in Japan began in the 20s, it wasn’t until the 2000s that they started gaining international attention outside of Japan, as Japanese whiskies started winning awards for their superior quality and flavors. Since whisky takes a while to mature in barrels (often over a decade), producers obviously have to be masterminds in predicting the demand waaaaay in advance.

The rising popularity of whisky (particularly Japanese whisky) in recent years has resulted in a shortage of supply, which has challenged producers and led to the introduction of blends, which combine older whiskies with younger ones to create a new unique fusion of flavors. While some may view this as a cop out and less desirable, it’s also opened up a window of possibilities for producers to channel their creativity to “harmoniously” blend together the ideal flavor profile from varying types of whiskies – introducing… the Japanese Harmony.

(And if you were ever curious about the spelling of whisky vs whiskey, the short answer is that it’s just a regional difference, with whiskEy originating from Ireland and the US and whisky hailing from Scotland, Japan, and Canada)