Suntory Hakushu 25-Year-Old Single Malt Japanese Whisky

The rarest of iconoclasts, Hakushu Single Malt 25-year-old. A Whisky that ‘has been in absurdly high demand for many years’, according to Forbes magazine.

The winner of the coveted World’s Best Single Malt at the World Whisky Awards, Hakushu 25-year-old single malt boasts complex riffs of rancio, toffee and nutmeg, juxtaposed with bittersweet chords of rhubarb and raspberry, the peaty smokiness imparting poise and an uncanny creaminess akin to top-drawer toro. This Whisky has received wide praise from aficionados including Jim Murray, arguably the most influential commentator on Whisky. Murray called it a ‘malt which is impossible not to be blown away by’.

'impossible not to be blown away…'
- Jim Murray

Factors differentiating Scotch and Japanese Whisky include the magnitude of different yeast strains used by the Japanese to impart complexity, some proprietary by name (Suntoryeus lactobacillus, for example); low-pressure distillation due to pervasive mountainous terrain and high altitudes, meaning lower boiling points and smooth, refined mouthfeels; along with the general lack of peated styles defied by the iconoclastic Hakushu 25-year-old, among very few others.