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No.8775 2004. 5. 13
New Release:“Suntory Pure Malt Whisky HOKUTO 12 Years”
— pursue new pure malt whisky “quaffable” than ever —
— named after Hokuto city, Yamanashi prefecture
celebrated birthplace of Hakushu Distillery
Suntory Ltd. (Head Office: Osaka, President: Nobutada Saji) is to release “Suntory Pure Malt Whisky HOKUTO 12 Years” as a new brand of whisky from 22 June 2004 nationwide across Japan.
Malt whisky has become popular in recent years. Suntory has tried to produce new whisky by pursuing a “quaffable” quality, to be tasted by as many people as possible for the malt’s greatness.
Featured for the refreshing flavor and mild taste, to-be-released “Suntory Pure Malt Whisky HOKUTO 12 Years” scents and tastes even better when drunk as “Half Rock”. Selecting pure malt whisky at “Hakushu Distillery” of over 12 years as key malt, Suntory practices the original system of “bamboo carbon-filteration” to produce smooth and mellow textures. On top of these, mild taste is produced by vatting pure malt whisky at Yamazaki Distillery with its original malt’s rich flavor. Being reasonably priced for malt whisky, “Suntory Pure Malt Whisky HOKUTO 12 Years” can be regularly drunk by a wide range of customers, and those who are not familiar with whisky.
• Using pure malt whisky at “Hakushu Distillery” as key malt, selected from various pure malt whiskies
“Hakushu Distillery” is the Suntory’s second distillery. It was built in 1973 and is located in the vast Hakushu forest at the foot of Kaikomagatake. Hakushu is the ideal land for making whisky, as it is where River Ojira flows, which is known as “the 100 best waters in Japan”. There is an abundance of natural water underground which is nurtured by filtration through the granite layer of Southern Alps. The feature of making whisky at “Hakushu Distillery” is that pure malt whisky with various flavors are individually produced by using original yeast, fermenter, and distillation still in different sizes and shapes.
Suntory has continued to research whisky for many years to elaborate the original whisky’s taste. Diversity of pure malt whisky’s types is unprecedented in the world.
• Feature of aroma and taste
Flower-like light, sweet and soft aroma with a refreshing woody scent. It tastes sweet and smooth, despite its firm delicious taste and rich maturity of 12 years.
• As Half Rock, made of “HOKUTO” and mineral water with proportion of 1 to 1
Blenders by nature mix the same amount of whisky and mineral water to sense the filled aroma and taste at their whisky tasting. Therefore, Suntory recommends “Half Rock”, mixed with the proportion of 1 to 1, as the best way to drink tasty whisky. “Half Rock” is well received by customers as “being balanced, neither too strong nor too light” and “being easy to sense the taste and aroma”. Customers in their 20s to 30s, who had little chances of drinking whisky beforehand, said “Half Rock” is “quaffable with the mellow taste”.
The mellow taste of “HOKUTO” can be felt smoother when drunk as “Half Rock” as well.
• Named after “Hokuto city”, celebrating its birthplace
“Hokuto city” will be born in November 2004 when 7 towns and villages from the north of Yamanashi prefecture are merged together, including Hakushu town in Kitakoma-gun which is the location of “Hakushu Distillery”. Celebrating this, the whisky was named as “HOKUTO” for using pure malt whisky of Hakushu Distillery as key malt.
The “TO” of HOKUTO refers to a rosaceous fruit tree called “Yamanashi”, which grows naturally in the countryside. It is also one of the reasons for naming the prefecture as Yamanashi. Therefore, “HOKUTO” means “north Yamanashi”, referring to the north of the Yamanashi prefecture.
• Packaging details
It is a simply designed bottle that suits malt whisky, featuring a posh quality by a black label with a white font. To add, the label features an ink painting of “Hakushu Distillery” as the background, at the time of its completed construction. It features malt whisky’s tradition and quality which is original in Japan.
▼ Name of product, Volume, Suggested retail price (excluding consumption tax), Proof, Packaging
“Suntory Pure Malt Whisky HOKUTO 12 Years”
| 660ml, | 2,450 Yen, | 40 %, | 12 bottles a cabinet |
| 50ml, | 350 Yen, | 40 %, | 48 bottles a cabinet |
▼ Type
Whisky
▼ Release date and sales region
22 June 2004, Japan nationwide
▼ Homepage for “HOKUTO”
http://suntory.jp/HOKUTO/
▽ For further enquiry, please contact:
Suntory Customer Center Toll free number: 0120-0139-310
(Osaka) Dojimahama 2-1-40, Kita-ku, Osaka, 530-8203, Japan
(Tokyo) Moto-Akasaka 1-2-3, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8430, Japan
Website: http://www.suntory.co.jp/
