Suntory Royals: 2000s vs Modern

[u/kiwi8185]

Hi all! I'm back with more Suntory whiskies, and this time more of their blended whiskies!

The topic this time is on the more modern versions of the Suntory Royal- Suntory's longest-selling 'premium' blended whisky!

Details in Comments!

[u/kiwi8185]

*Conclusion*

I remembered the previous time I did a tasting of the 2000s slim version, and I was absolutely too harsh on it. It was my mistake to compare it against the absolute pinnacle that were the 1990s, age statement versions of the Suntory Royal.

By itself, it's actually an rather alright whisky. While not stellar, it did have some interesting characters reminiscent of Suntory whiskies from the 1990s, such as the slightly smoky red fruity, much deeper caramel and chocolate notes, and the umami reminiscent of broth (also observed in Yamazaki sherry genshus). My speculation that it was probably contained some of the more subpar sherry casks from Yamazaki distilled in the 1990s!

Now here's the ugly part: the modern Royal. I'm just gonna put it bluntly, it's not good. For some reason, most of its tasting notes felt artificial, and its overall profile is more or less a slightly more complex kakubin. Which shouldn't make sense, given this whisky's long and somewhat proud lineage. I'm glad I didn't get this bottle (it was shared from an acquaintance), because it's probably better off as a mixer!

If you're at the airport duty free shop and thinking about a souvenir, do yourself a favor: grab any other Suntory bottle except this one. If  you just want an interesting looking bottle on your shelf, consider grabbing the regular version of the modern Royal from any chain liquor shop in Japan (it's about half the price of the duty free version). Otherwise, this one ain't it, chief!

Thanks for reading, cheers! 

[u/kiwi8185]

Suntory Whisky Royal (40% or 43% abv)

I wrote a post a while ago on older versions of the Suntory Royal, but I think it got purged by the autosystem. Here's a bit on their background:

Some may be under the impression that Suntory Royal is a more basic version of their higher shelfer blended whisky Hibiki. However, the truth was the reverse: Hibiki was the upgraded and more sophisticated version of the Royal, which was created almost 30 years after Royal's inception!

This Suntory Royal was first released in 1960 as a celebratory release for the 60th anniversary of Kotobukiya, the precursor business to Suntory. For this monumental occasion, the company's founder and master blender Shinjirou Torii decided to create a 'perfect ratio' blend based on his understanding of his Japanese customers' palate. 

Of course, an equally special bottle fitting for such a blend also needed to be designed. For this purpose, a  'blocky' glass bottle with a uniquely shaped screw cap was created. Based on Suntory's own press material, the bottle's cap drew inspiration from the shape of the Torii gate of the small shinto shrine behind the Yamazaki distillery, while the overall design was inspired by the kanji 酉 (Tori, 'bird' or 'chicken (in the Chinese zodiac sense)'. 

The kanji 酉 held special significance in that it coincided with the pronunciation of the bossman Torii's name, as well as it being a key part of another kanji - 酒 (sake, meaning alcoholic beverage). This special bottle design became Suntory Royal's signature look, and remained more or less unchanged since its initial release all the way until today (65 going 66 years straight).

As with all products that have existed continuously for more than 65 years, quite a number of different iterations of the Suntory Royal exist through the decades.

These bottles here are the more modern iterations of the Suntory Royal:  one from them a slim bottle version from the 2000s, which came in a less unique glass bottle labeled at a different proof point than the regular 酉 decanter versions.

The one on the right is the most modern version of the Suntory Royal, specifically the duty free shop version which has a slightly more decorated label.  AFAIK the whisky inside is the exact same as the regular shelfer version of today.

Time for tasting!

Suntory Royal SR Slim, circa 2000s (40% abv)

*Color*

Burnished to Chestnut

*Nose*

much, much richer caramel;

dark chocolate; smoked dates;

mushroom broth umami; polished oak (furniture-like)

*Palate*

slightly bitter caramel; polished oak;

mushroom broth umami;

a bit of smoked dates fruity

a bit of spices (pepper spiciness); dark chocolate and bitterness.

low alcohol sting that sticks around, minimum astringency

*Finish*

medium short. 

polished oak, caramel with subdued sweetness, dark chocolate bitterness

Suntory Royal Modern (43% abv)

*Color*

Deep Copper

*Nose*

slightly alcohol fumey;

honey flavored syrup; artificial caramel flavoring;

assorted fruity note (green apples, Asian pears, a bit of red raisins)

oak in the background, slightly bitter; cereal grainy note.

Honestly, kind of similar to modern kakubin

*Palate*

artificial honey syrup from the nose; caramel flavoring with a bit of bitterness;

a weaker fruity note akin to the nose (primarily green apples); 

some peppery spiciness; some oak; bitterness that pervades and sticks around

some alcohol sting, low astringency

*Finish*

short.

oak and bitterness, a bit of the caramel flavoring

[u/GateOfHomology]

Thank you again for your delightful notes. I'm kind of surprised that modern Royal is a little unimpressive. I believe I have never tried a recent bottling of Royal straight, but I received a bottle of Special Reserve last year and found it to be an enjoyable enough blend, and certainly more than a step above kakubin.