Working in the “Industry” (the restaurant biz) allows me try many different beverages. My vendors bring in many products – most of which are off the beaten path of household brand names such as Absolute, Jack or Macallan. The other afternoon, one of the reps came in for lunch and told me she had a bottle of single malt scotch from Japan called Hibiki (43% ABV, around $80). Japanese single malt? I just had to try it.
Upon first glance, its unique bottle and amber hue, outlined in gold, caught my eye. I took a sniff from the bottle and poured a taste into a rocks glass. Lifting the glass to my nose, I picked up a bouquet of plums, raspberries, pineapples, honey, and vanilla. Normally, when tasting scotch whiskey, I would cut the contents with a couple drops of water. With this one, I swigged it straight and pure.
The initial taste brought an aromatic mouthful of honey and cream with a body of smooth and soft mellow sweetness and a long, clean, sweet, and spicy finish. During the distillation process, Hibiki is stored in barrels made from Mizunara, a very rare Japanese oak which produces the “orchestra of flavors” as noted above.
Hibiki is owned under the House of Suntory (in Osaka/Kyoto, Japan, on the main island of Honshū) which began production of scotch whiskey in 1924. Whiskey production actually began in Japan in the 1870's, but it was not until Suntory blew out its products worldwide in the 1920’s that it gained its reputation as a superb whiskey style all of its own. If Suntory sounds familiar, it played a pivotal role in the movie “Lost in Translation” with Bill Murray as he filmed a commercial for the brand and used the line, “It’s Suntory time.”
Tasting this scotch took me back to my travels through Europe and the time I spent at the Scotch Malt Whiskey Society in Edinburg, Scotland. I took notes on the scotches and you can read about it in my book The Right to Release: A Trail of Empty Bottles Across Europe. At the society, I learned that though scotch is usually consumed after meals or paired with a cigar, it works very well with gamy meats (quail, venison, or duck) and with zesty poultry and pork dishes or spicy food such as Indian or Chinese cuisine. With scotch and food, the food paired has to be as bold as the scotch you are drinking.
Upon first glance, its unique bottle and amber hue, outlined in gold, caught my eye. I took a sniff from the bottle and poured a taste into a rocks glass. Lifting the glass to my nose, I picked up a bouquet of plums, raspberries, pineapples, honey, and vanilla. Normally, when tasting scotch whiskey, I would cut the contents with a couple drops of water. With this one, I swigged it straight and pure.
The initial taste brought an aromatic mouthful of honey and cream with a body of smooth and soft mellow sweetness and a long, clean, sweet, and spicy finish. During the distillation process, Hibiki is stored in barrels made from Mizunara, a very rare Japanese oak which produces the “orchestra of flavors” as noted above.
Hibiki is owned under the House of Suntory (in Osaka/Kyoto, Japan, on the main island of Honshū) which began production of scotch whiskey in 1924. Whiskey production actually began in Japan in the 1870's, but it was not until Suntory blew out its products worldwide in the 1920’s that it gained its reputation as a superb whiskey style all of its own. If Suntory sounds familiar, it played a pivotal role in the movie “Lost in Translation” with Bill Murray as he filmed a commercial for the brand and used the line, “It’s Suntory time.”
Tasting this scotch took me back to my travels through Europe and the time I spent at the Scotch Malt Whiskey Society in Edinburg, Scotland. I took notes on the scotches and you can read about it in my book The Right to Release: A Trail of Empty Bottles Across Europe. At the society, I learned that though scotch is usually consumed after meals or paired with a cigar, it works very well with gamy meats (quail, venison, or duck) and with zesty poultry and pork dishes or spicy food such as Indian or Chinese cuisine. With scotch and food, the food paired has to be as bold as the scotch you are drinking.
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