No.9774   April 19. 2007

Suntory Whisky HIBIKI 30 Years Named World’s Best Blended
Whisky at Whisky Magazine World Whiskies Awards

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Suntory Limited is proud to announce that its HIBIKI 30 Years whisky was named the World’s Best Blended Whisky, the highest honor in the blended whisky category, at the World Whiskies Awards Ceremony held in Glasgow, Scotland on April 18, 2007.

The award was accompanied by enthusiastic praise from the select panel of judges representing the best in the industry from around the world. These whisky critics, experts, and journalists applauded HIBIKI 30 Years, saying that it was “Deep, powerful, showing the maturity of its age. Undoubtedly the best blended whisky” and “An eye-opening blend.”

• World Whiskies Awards (WWA)
This year marks the first World Whiskies Awards, an international judging of whiskies sponsored by Whisky Magazine, the British specialty whisky magazine respected in more than 100 countries around the world. The WWA is the only international competition in the world that focuses exclusively on whisky.
More than 200 whiskies were submitted from countries around the world. After preliminary rounds of tasting and judging by experts in their individual countries, the sub-category winners moved on to the final round of judging in Great Britain. In the final round of competition, the semi-finalist whiskies were divided into six categories, including best malt whiskies and best blended whiskies. At the end of this extremely tough competition in a blind tasting by an expert panel, six whiskies were honored as the “World’s Best.”

• Characteristics of the Suntory Whisky HIBIKI 30 Years
Derived from a blend of Yamazaki Distillery sherry malt and other ultra-matured malts, HIBIKI 30 Years is a full-bodied, sweetly aromatic whisky with a gorgeous bouquet reminiscent of flowers. Experience the pleasure of its smooth taste, rich body and deep aftertaste for yourself.

* Name of Competition, Award and Winning Beverage
World Whiskies Awards 2007
World’s Best Blended Whisky
Suntory Whisky HIBIKI 30 Years