Discontinued in 2015, it's only now, in 2026, making its way back onto airport duty-free shelves — a gap of a full 11 years. Suntory's blended whisky Hibiki is bringing back its 12-year expression as a global travel retail exclusive, but the recipe is no longer quite what longtime fans remember.
Hibiki was born in 1989, blended from whiskies produced at three of the company's distilleries: the Yamazaki and Hakushu malt whisky distilleries, along with the Chita grain whisky distillery. The original lineup consisted only of 17-year and 21-year expressions, with a 30-year version added in 1997, and the 12-year finally arriving in 2009. These expressions have since disappeared one by one — the 12-year was discontinued in 2015, followed by the 17-year in 2018, and both have since become rare, pricey collector's items on the market. A few years back, Suntory also released a Hibiki 40 Year, limited to just 400 bottles worldwide at $35,000 each.
Plum Wine Casks Out, Japanese Mizunara Oak In
The old 12-year expression was blended from whiskies aged in Spanish oak and American oak casks, with a small portion of whisky finished in umeshu (Japanese plum liqueur) casks mixed in. The new version drops the umeshu cask component entirely. In its place, the blend is built on a base of Chita grain whisky aged in American oak, combined with malt whiskies aged in Spanish oak and Japanese mizunara oak.
A brand representative told Robb Report that internally, Suntory considers mizunara oak aging to only really come into its own after at least 15 years, meaning this blend likely contains components aged well past 15 years — though the age statement still reflects the youngest whisky in the mix, hence the "12 Year" label.
Robb Report Tasting Notes: 92 Points
Jonah Flicker, the spirits critic behind Robb Report's weekly whisky column Taste Test, gave the release a score of 92 points after tasting it. He noted the whisky comes in at 86 proof (about 43% ABV) — not quite as high as he'd have liked, but still a step up from 80 proof — and that it delivers layers of orange peel, chocolate, blueberry, baking spice, vanilla, maple syrup, honey, and warm biscuit on the palate. While the brand suggests serving it on the rocks, Flicker felt it was worth trying neat first, to get a true sense of the spirit on its own.
Flicker also pointed out that 12 years is a pretty standard age statement for whisky in general (bourbon and other American whiskeys aside), so the $188 suggested retail price, while not cheap, isn't outrageous either. For now, the release is only available at a handful of global travel retail locations and hasn't hit general retail shelves, so whether it will see wider distribution remains to be seen. Flicker also speculated in his piece that Hibiki 17 Year could be the next expression to make a comeback — though he was quick to note that's purely his own guess.
