Review #17: Hibiki 17

I figured it would make sense to give the Hibiki 17 a try and review after writing up the review for the 12 year old. I'll skip some writing on the distillery, which you can read here.

The Hibiki 17 Year Old Blended Whisky is made from a combination of malt whiskies from the Yamazaki and Hakushu distilleries, as well as grain whisky from the Chita distillery. The whisky is then aged for a minimum of 17 years in a combination of American white oak casks, sherry casks, and Japanese Mizunara oak casks. As with the 12 year old, the 17 was also discontinued a few years ago.

I realize that this is review #17, talking about the Hibiki 17. Which I wouldn't have been able to plan even if I did. But this worked out pretty well. But I thought it would be a good idea to follow the review of the 12 with the 17 year old. When I first picked up a Hibiki 12, I decided to add the 17 year old to my collection shortly after. This was as it was starting to get popular and prices were a bit more reasonable.

The Hibiki 17 isn't much different over the 12 for me, a lot of the flavors are a bit more pronounced and there are some things in this bottle that's not present in the 12. It's a well balanced blend that could easily be mistaken for a single malt.

Nose: I got a bit more of a stronger alcohol note compared to the 12, but also found a lot of sweet notes. Caramel & honey mixed in with some smokey dark chocolate. Minor earthy tones of toasted nuts.

Palate: This dram is sweet and complex, it's well balanced with citrus, chocolate and caramel. There's also a bit of oak that comes in near the end that really gives you the idea of how old this blend is.

The 17 year old sits right next to my 12 year old. And when I'm in the mood for a Hibiki, I more often than not grab the 12 year old. But that's not to say just how wonderful the 17 year old is. Its added complexity from its longer maturing and blend from 3 different distilleries, makes it such a great bottle.

As far as recommending it, it falls along the same route as the 12. If you have the means and you can afford it, go for it. But at the prices people are asking for these it's difficult to say you should get it.