Hakushu 12 Single Malt Whiskey is an example of the booming whiskey world taking its toll on unprepared distilleries. I distinctly remember in 2018 when there was news that Hakushu 12 Year was being paused for a few years until their stocks caught up due to exploding demand for Japanese whiskey. In the years since though, I’ve been seeing these pop up occasionally at stores for some reason, but that’s a good thing. Regardless, I bought one and am reviewing it for you and me.
Here’s some extra background – Hakushu and Yamazaki are related, both Japanese whiskey distilleries owned by Suntory-Beam (yes that Jim Beam). While both Hakushu 12 and Yamazaki 12 Year whiskeys are single malt whiskeys (100% malted barley from a single distillery) made in the Scotch style, I believe that one major distinction between the two is that Hakushu is supposedly lightly peated while Yamazaki does more with sherry casks. I’ve had a few bottles of Yamazaki 12 Year Whiskey over the years, but don’t have any experience with Hakushu 12 Year until now. Let’s find out together what this whiskey has to offer in this Hakushu 12 Year Japanese whiskey review.