Hi all!

Unfathomably long post ahead, please skip if not interested in the topic. (Don't worry, you'll only moderately hurt my feelings lmao)

A while ago, I did a post on some of the measures Suntory implemented on their Yamazaki and Hakushu bottles for anti-counterfeit purposes ([here](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapaneseWhisky/comments/1qz7qma/is_my_suntory_whisky_yamazakihakushu_real_a_rough/))

In one of the related posts, a comment pointed out a major oversight I made: what if a fraudster is using *\*recycled real bottles\**? In that case, wouldn't the fake bottle have all of the correct anti-counterfeit measures? 

That is such an exceedingly valid point, to which I decided to make this follow-up post just about it!

Since any recycled bottle would most definitely have already been opened and emptied prior, any fraudster will have to attempt at recreate the bottle seal in order to create the facade of a brand new unopened bottle. Of course, Suntory is well aware of this, and as such have also implemented severalanti-counterfeit measures for their unopened bottles' seals!

As I do not own every single Suntory bottle in existence nor do I work in this field (yeah this is entirely a hobby), these are just example pics with bottles from different eras I own, as well as some notes on the measures I have heard from professionals on the bottle seal and neck tags:

**\*\*Yamazakis & Hakushus\*\***

Yamazakis and Hakushus share identical anti-counterfeit measures, particularly for the bottle seals and neck tags. I often mention these two together because on an unopened bottle, the bottle seal and neck tag for them are *\*in one piece, and made of the same metallic material\**. (pics 2&3)

Additionally, note the dotted line which follows the notch (part you tear from to break the seal): on a real Suntory bottle, the upper portion of the dotted line \*always goes upwards at an angle\*, while the bottom dotted line is purely horizontal. Additionally, as discussed in the past post, the neck tag will always have a \*metallic ring texture\*, \*both inside and outside\*. 

I noted in the previous post that in order to create a counterfeit with a real bottle, the fraudster often needs to remove the neck tag too. This is because the metallic material used for the original bottle seal and neck tag were originally in one piece, and tearing the notch between the two parts will inevitably result in uneven torn bits on the top of the neck tag. This makes reattaching the torn bottle seal to the remaining neck tag, and making it appear new rather challenging. As such, fraudsters oftentimes had to replace the unevenly torn neck tag as well, and put on a new, fake metallic bottle seal & neck tag in their place. 

I bring this point up because I learned of a case from one rare bottle shop I frequented, where they identified a \*fake Owner's Cask\* bottle (which one of their customers had scored in an online auction but wanted to double check its authenticity). They discovered that the bottle was a fake using a recycled real empty bottle, because it had several missing or out of place features from the seal & neck tag, such as the \*neck tag's interior texture not matching that of a real bottle's\*. 

These bottle seal and neck tag characters are universal for all Suntory single malt bottles using this type of screw cap bottling (i.e. not special decanter/special bottling) from 1990s onwards. I'm not 100% certain about the 1980s bottlings, as I don't have one handy.

For each of the different era bottles, here are some more bottle seal & neck tag characteristics:

\*1990\~2004\*

\*Pic 1,2,3,4 leftmost bottle: Yamazaki 12 yr, circa mid 1990s\*

This is the era where Suntory adopted the Golden Flower Emblem on their labels. As such, this emblem is also imprinted onto the \*top\* of the unopened bottle seals. Additionally, during this period, Suntory calls their single malts \*Pure Malts\*. The words \*Suntory Pure Malt Whisky\* were imprinted alongside the Golden Flower Emblem on the top of the bottle seal; there are also \*two\* notable textured dots between the words "Suntory" and "Pure Malt Whisky". 

For the neck tag, the words "Suntory Pure Malt Whisky" were imprinted on them on the front. 

\*2004\~2016\*

\*Pic 1,2,3,4 center bottle: Yamazaki 12 yr, circa early 2010s\*

In 2004, Suntory switched their product names from "Pure Malt" to "Single Malt". As such, related changes were made: 

The Golden Flower Emblem on the top of the bottle seal was the same, but the words imprinted alongside it became \*Suntory Single Malt Whisky\*; there are also \*two\* notable textured dots between the words "Suntory" and "Single Malt Whisky".

For the neck tag, they also changed the imprinted words on the front into "Suntory Single Malt Whisky".

Around 2007, Suntory decided to also phase out the use of the golden flower emblem from their products' labels, however, they \*retained the same design on the top of the bottle seal\*. This went all the way until around 2017.

\*2017\~today\*

\*Pic 1,2,3,4 right bottle: Hakushu 12 yr, circa 2020s\*

Around 2017, Suntory pulled several new changes for their regular Yamazaki and Hakushus (including the formula of the blend, as well as a brief suspension of the Hakushu 12). The changes on the bottle seal and the neck tags are as such:

First, Suntory retired the \*The Golden Flower Emblem and Words imprinted on the top of the bottle seal\*. For all bottles of this bottling type going forward, they'll just have a flat, unmarked bottle seal on the top.

Second, they phased out the "Suntory Single Malt Whisky" wording on the front of the neck tag, replacing it with just "Suntory Whisky".

Lastly, they introduced a key new anti-counterfeit measure: the \*hologrpahic authentication sticker\*. This sticker is attached to the \*back of the neck tag\*, and are present on \*all\* Suntory releases of this type of bottling following 2017, from the regular NAS shelfer to the fancy limited releases. This Holographic sticker has a very specific design, and is very fragile, so any tempering or attempt to remove it will likely break it. Having a real one more or less guarantees the authenticity of the bottle.

Special Note: There is a very very odd stopgap generation bottling only seen in 2017: a few batches of Yamazaki and Hakushu were shipped \*without the imprinted emblem and words on top bottle seals\*, \*retained the "Suntory Single Malt Whisky" wording on the neck tag\*, and \*had no holographic sticker\*. If you happen to find one of these, this one holds the same juice as the early 2010s version, and not the post-2017 modern juice.

All of the above measures apply to Suntory's newer limited releases, from the notch dotted line format, neck tag textures, neck tag wording and holographic stickers (pic 5, both limited release bottles from 2023)



**\*\*Hibikis\*\***

Due to their extremely unique bottle designs, replicating a fake bottle of Hibiki turned out to be quite some hassle for fraudsters. As such, *\*almost all\** fake Hibikis were made with recycled real bottles (oftentimes with their original boxes), which creates quite the headache to spotting a fake. As such, for identifying Hibikis, checking the bottle seals are of utmost importance. (and the neck tags secondly, as they may be damaged in recycled bottles and have been replaced)

Unfortunately, I don't have a super complete collection of Hibikis through every era. I will try to provide as much info on some of these measures I know of with the ones I own.

One point of note: various versions of Hibiki will also have different *\*unique neck tags, featuring different color, wording and style\**. Always check online if the bottle you plan on picking up matches the neck tag of a real one (such as pic 6 and 8; forward facing real Hibiki pics are very, very easy to find!)

\*1989\~early 1990s\*

\*pic 7, leftmost bottle: NAS Golden Flower Hibiki, circa early 1990s\* 

This was when Hibiki was fresh on the market, and Suntory probably didn't expect people to counterfeit their bottles. As such, the old bottling uses a plastic cap, imprinted with their emblem of the time (1989 version has a twin lion emblem; early 1990s version has a golden flower emblem). The bottle seal itself is just a transparent plastic wrapper with a vertical dotted line. That's kind of it really; make sure the emblem on the bottle cap matches the emblem on the box and the bottle's label!

\*mid 1990s\~2017\*

\*pic 7 middle bottle, pic 8 & 9: Hibiki 17, circa late 1990s\*

During the mid 1990s, Suntory decided to change the design for the Hibikis' bottle caps by giving it a more elegantly designed crystal glass cork top. As such, additional measures were introduced to the transparent plastic bottle seal around this crystal glass cork top:

Firstly, the word *\*"Hibiki" in white is printed horizontally on repeat around the middle of the plastic bottle seal\**. It will also have the word *\*"Suntory" in black printed horizontally on repeat near the intersection area between the cork and the bottle\** (pic 8)

Secondly, the notch of this plastic bottle seal will appear *\*sideways, in a very specific angle going downwards\*.* (pic 9)

Lastly, the crystal glass cork top will have the *\*suntory flower emblem and/or the kanji for Hibiki "響" on top of it\**. Again, various versions of Hibikis all have their own unique design, but the rule of thumb is that earlier versions will have the Suntory emblem, while later versions change to using the Hibiki kanji.

\*2017\~today\*

(pic 6 left bottle, pic 7 bottom right bottle, pic 10 & 11: Hibiki 21, circa 2020s)

Like the Yamazaki and Hakushus, Hibiki also adopted the *\*Holographic authentication sticker\** following the 2017 overhaul. This sticker is located on the back of the bottle (pic 10), directly attached to the plastic bottle seal and neck tag. Any attempt at removing the bottle seal will almost certainly break the holographic sticker; so the presence of an intact and authentic holographic sticker is a good indicator of a real bottle. 

Also, the notch on the plastic seal has become *\*fully vertical\** (pic 11). 

On the transparent plastic bottle seal they retained the *\*"Suntory" printed horizontally on repeat near the intersection area between the cork and the bottle, but in a different font and color (brown)\** (pic 6 left bottle, zoom in for details)

Additionally, Suntory removed the horizontal white "Hibiki" printed on the transparent plastic bottle seal. Instead, the \**words* *Hibiki are now printed vertically on the notch (the part you tear from between dotted lines) in a very fine white print on repeat\**. (also pic 11) 

These are more or less all that I'm aware of. If anyone knows any additional measures implemented on these bottles, please do share as well!

Thanks for reading! Any thoughts and comments are greatly appreciated.

Is My Suntory Whisky Real? A Rough Guide, Part II- Bottle Seals