At Suntory’s Chita grain distillery, there are three different styles produced: a light, medium, and heavy. In contrast, Japanese producers don’t just produce one type, they make a range of grain whisky to use in their blends. Both are distilled in column stills but Scottish grain whisky is predominantly distilled to a higher proof to create a cleaner, lighter spirit. However, the Japanese approach their grain whiskies differently than Scotch producers do. The Toki, on the other hand, features whiskey from the Hakushu distillery as its primary malt which is different because Hakushu’s more distinct general style usually means it plays more of a supporting role in Suntory’s blends. The Hakushu malt in this one has been aged only in American oak, while the Yamazaki has been aged in both American oak and European oak.Īs you might expect from a relatively lower priced blended whisky, the majority of what’s in the Toki bottle is grain whisky. It also finished some of its malt in ex-Umeshu barrels, Umeshu being a traditional Japanese plum liqueur. Hibiki was known for its high malt content with whisky from the Yamazaki Distillery making up the majority of the single malt used. All that said, the Toki and the Hibiki are very different whiskies. The non-age-statemented Hibiki Harmony followed a similar path. The Toki now seems to be filling Suntory’s need for a lower priced, entry-level Japanese blend. But as the years went by, it’s popularity soared, and demand eventually led Suntory to scale back distribution and raise prices. Upon its arrival, at least in the US, that one was a relatively affordable, high-quality Japanese blend.
Clever segue, huh? In a way, this new expression is sort of taking the place originally occupied in many markets by the Hibiki 12 Year Old. Toki is also the name of the latest blended whisky released by the House of Suntory. note, please see Yuichiro’s comment on the word/idea “toki” below, they clarify and elaborate far better than I ever could.) All this is a little linguistically over my head, so if there are any Japanese speakers who would like to correct any of this, please do so. In this case, “toki” more or less refers to the “when” part of the sentence as it relates to the time I only drink whisky.
Which, when plugged into Google translate, translates as: “When I go to Scotland, I only drink whisky.” (Watashi ga Sukottorando ni iku toki, watashi wa uisukī dake o nomu) As I understand it, it’s far more accurate to say that toki (pronounced toe’-key) is a Japanese word that represents “time” and is used “to express the time when some states or actions exist or occur.” ¹ So for example, you’d never say, “what toki is it?” but you would say… But if it were, this part of my review would be a little shorter. Toki ( とき ) is the Japanese word for “time.”Īh, if it were only that simple. *Sincere thanks to MS and Savona Communications for the sample.
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