Suntory World Whisky AO

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 43% | Chill filtration: Yes | Colouring: Yes

Special Features:

Suntory Ao brings together five whisky traditions in one blend. The selected whiskies come from Yamazaki and Hakushu in Japan, Ardmore and Glen Garioch in Scotland, Cooley in Ireland, Jim Beam Clermont in the USA and Alberta in Canada. The blend is intended to preserve their distinctive characters rather than merge them into the most uniform flavour possible. Ao thus combines a sweet, fruity opening with an increasingly smoky and spicy palate.

Ao means blue in Japanese and refers to the seas between the countries of origin. The five-sided bottle echoes this connection, with each side representing one of the five countries. Calligrapher Tansetsu Ogino created the gold lettering. The amber-coloured whisky is bottled at 43%; this version contains 0.7 litres and comes without gift packaging.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: Vanilla and fruit notes reminiscent of pineapple shape the aroma. Creamy sweetness and a deep, lingering woody aroma accompany them.
• Palate: The whisky initially feels soft and sweet. Smoke and a cinnamon-like spiciness gradually emerge.
• Finish: Sweetness and smoke remain intertwined with spicy and woody impressions in a layered finish.

Distillery/Bottler:

Suntory's history began in 1899 with Shinjiro Torii. By founding Yamazaki distillery in 1923, he laid the foundations for the company's whisky production. His son Keizo Saji continued this development and went on to establish Hakushu, among other ventures. Both distilleries supply whiskies for Ao: Yamazaki lies in an area known for its mist, while Hakushu is set in a forested mountain landscape.

Chief Blender Shinji Fukuyo selected the whiskies from the different countries for Ao. The blend also brings together different production methods. Cooley uses double distillation, while Alberta works with locally grown rye. Jim Beam Clermont uses water naturally filtered through limestone and a yeast strain whose use dates back to the Prohibition era. These differences are part of the material with which Suntory's blenders work; they are not replaced by a shared recipe across the participating distilleries.

Facts: