JAL 777-300ER back on Sydney route

[elanshin]

Hibiki 100th Anniversary was on board JL52 today for consumption, as was "Ichiro's Malt Chichibu Single Malt JAL Exclusive 2024" (i.e. the December exclusive for F pax available to pre-order from November 25th). Taste tested both as I'm looking to buy a gift for a friend and wasn't certain which way to go? I'll freely admit that I'm not a whiskey drinker, so my very uneducated opinion was that the 100th Anniversary was the nicer of the two. For me, it was smoother and more complex of the two. But again, I'm no expert.

Was a fair bit of confusion about purchasing the Hibiki though. Flight crew advised stock was very limited now and soon to be depleted. Also mentioned that no more than 5 bottles were typically loaded on any given flight. They stated it needed to be purchased through the inflight shopping mall (i.e. online), which directed you to a Japanese-only site. English version later found with much trouble. Of course, too late to pre-order once you're aboard and having checked in the days leading up to my flight, it already knew it wasn't to be found in the pre-order items. Eventually found a crew member who confirmed that it was available for purchase on board and they had stock if we wanted it. Consequently ordered a bottle.

Sounds like it's not much longer for this world though, so get in if/while you have the chance.

Hibiki 100th if you're not sure. The resale on it is crazy right now.

 

[DejaBrew]

Hibiki 100th if you're not sure. The resale on it is crazy right now.

Yeah, I figured the price difference was there for a reason. Not always how it works I know, but the Hibiki was clearly an "occasion" release vs a craft release (which is how I'm perceiving the Chichibu).

 

[sudoer]

Yeah, I figured the price difference was there for a reason. Not always how it works I know, but the Hibiki was clearly an "occasion" release vs a craft release (which is how I'm perceiving the Chichibu).

Really depends who you're buying for IMO. The Hibiki is a safer all round bet, more wow factor/hype and maybe more palatable for less experienced whisky drinkers (being a blend).

The Chichibu might be more desirable to a connoisseur who prefers a single malt and/or has had plenty of Hibiki already.

I don't think you can go wrong either way - I've tried the JAL 2024 Chichibu last month and have Hibiki 21 sitting on the shelf at home. They're both excellent.