NEWS: HOUSE OF SUNTORY CELEBRATES 100 YEARS

House of Suntory celebrates 100 years

Leading Japanese whisky distillery Suntory celebrated its 100th anniversary with four super premium releases.

- By Caoimhe Hanrahan-Lawrence.

This year marks a century since Shinjiro Torii established Suntory’s Yamazaki distillery, Japan’s first commercial whisky distillery, and fifty years since the opening of the Hakushu distillery. Suntory whisky celebrated the milestone with guests in Sydney at the newly opened Oborozuki restaurant in Circular Quay. Guests sampled a range of Suntory whiskies, including limited release whiskies blended especially for the anniversary celebrations.

To mark the brand’s 100th anniversary, Suntory has released four super premium limited-edition bottlings of its renowned Yamazaki and Hakushu ranges.

Opened in 1923, the Yamazaki distillery was founded with Torii’s dream to “create an original Japanese whisky blessed with the riches of Japanese nature and craftsmanship”.

Fifty years later, in 1973, the secondgeneration master blender, Keizo Saji founded the Hakushu distillery in Mt. Kaikomagatake, a location chosen because of the exceptional granite-filtered mountain water. Fifth generation chief blender Shinji Fukuyo spoke to the importance of the Hakushu and Yamazaki whiskies to Suntory.

“Hakushu and Yamazaki whiskies are gifts from our past handed down by generations. It is fitting to release limited editions as part of this incredible milestone, as they represent our relentless pursuit of quality and symbolize our promise to carry our philosophy on for the next one hundred years and beyond,” Fukuyo said.

The Yamazaki 18 Year Old Mizunara is exclusively aged in mizunara casks, a native Japanese oak, and offers rich and elegant notes of dark cherry and ripe peach on the nose, with a subtly spiced palate.

“Yamazaki 18 Year Old Mizunara was blended for our 100 year anniversary and features a rich texture created from a long aging process. This expresses the delicate and meticulous attention to detail that went into its craftsmanship,” Fukuyu described.

The Hakushu 18 Year Old Peated Malt is a daring exploration into peated whisky for the distillery, with a subtly smokey flavour mellowed by the delicate Hakushu whisky, creating a herbaceous palate with notes of smoke, honey, and green apple.

“Blending is at the heart of everything we do at the House of Suntory, and we hold each of our whiskies to the highest standards throughout the process. I am proud to share the release of Hakushu 18 Year Old Peated Malt and special edition packaging of our Hakushu

12 Year Old with the world,” Fukuyu said.

The Yamazaki 12 Year Old and Hakushu 12 Year Old have received limited edition anniversary packaging, which reflect the concept of “monozuruki”, a style of Japanese craftsmanship integral to the Suntory distilling process.

Guests at the Sydney event were witness to the Australian premier of Academy Award-winning director Sofia Coppola’s short film, the Suntory Anniversary Tribute. The Coppola family have a storied past with Suntory, beginning in 1980 when Francis Ford Coppola starred in a Suntory advert directed by legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. This advert inspired the inclusion of Suntory in Sofia Coppola’s 2003 film Lost in Translation, which originated the famous “Suntory Time” slogan. The new Suntory Anniversary Tribute advert, starring renowned actor Keanu Reeves, is an energetic collage exploring the history of the Suntory brand and the true meaning of Suntory time.

Later in the year, Suntory will release The Nature and Spirit of Japan, a series of documentary shorts starring Reeves and directed by Sofia Coppola’s brother Roman Coppola. The shorts will delve into Japanese whisky culture, with shorts inspired by “Wa”, (harmony with nature), “Monozukuri” (Japanese craftsmanship), and “Omotenashi” (mindful hospitality). Reeves requested to be a part of the anniversary celebration due to his love for Suntory whisky, especially his preferred Hibiki.

“I’m honoured to partner with Suntory Whisky again thirty years after our Suntory Reserve campaign. I’m a huge fan of Suntory Whisky, so it’s very special to collaborate in honour of this milestone anniversary. My admiration for the whisky goes beyond tasting the whisky. It is the elevated Japanese craftsmanship and attention to every detail that makes Suntory Whisky so special. As an actor honing and perfecting my own craft, sharing this process in a docuseries is a thrill,” Reeves enthused.

Jon Potter, managing director of House of Suntory, expressed his pride at the milestone.

“As the pioneer of Japanese whisky, the House of Suntory played a significant role in shaping culture and leading craftsmanship in Japan over the last century. To mark this historic milestone, partnering with Sofia and Keanu, who are Suntory Whisky fans, makes perfect sense. From our fifth generation chief blender Shinji Fukuyo’s striking blends to Sofia and Keanu’s unique cinematic creations, this commemoration has surpassed all expectations to celebrate our iconic Japanese whiskies,” Potter concluded.