Pray for Japan: Tasting Two Nikka Whiskies

L-R: Taketsuru 12 and Nikka From the Barrel

As highlighted in the earlier post dedicated to Japan and its brave people, I have decided to do a special tasting of two whiskies from Japan, a bit like how Serge Valentin has been doing throughout the whole of the last week. These two whiskies were selected as they are both from Nikka and contain whiskies from the Miyagikou Distillery, which was the closest to the areas that bore the frull brunt of the quake and tsunami. Once again, this post goes out to the brave people in Japan, who are fighting to save lives and rebuild lives, even at the risk (and even neglect) of their own. In adversity, it is lights like you that shine the brightest, and I salute your bravery and selflessness.

Name: Nikka Taketsuru 12
Distillery: Nikka (Miyagiko and Yoichi)
Age Statement: 12
Type: Pure Malt
Alc/Vol: 40%

The Nikka Taketsuru is named after the father of Japanese whisky, Masataka Taketsuru, who travelled to Scotland in the early 20th century to learn distilling techniques and all the intricacies of Scotch whisky production. After short stints at Longmorn and Bo'ness, he finally got an apprenticeship at Hazelburn, where he gained in depth knowledge of whisky production before returning back to Japan and sharing his knowledge with the people from his home country.

Back in Japan, Taketsuru has links with the two biggest names in Japanese whisky, Suntory and Nikka. He worked for Suntory till 1934, when he left to form his own company, Nikka. Nikka today has two distilleries, namely Yoichi at Hokkaido and Miyagikou in Sendai.

The Nikka Taketsuru range are all blends of different Single Malt whiskies taken from both Nikka distilleries. As it does not contain any grain whiskies but various different single malts, it is classified as a Pure Malt, which is a relatively new categorization in the world of whisky.

Nose: Nice clean nose but not too full on flavour or complexity. Notes of apples and marmalade, hints of vanilla and the mix of cappucino with dusted cocoa on top (20)
Taste/Palate: Starts with a caramel sweetness with slight spices (a hint of all spice?) before a nice salted butter note hits, much like a salted pie crust, light vanilla as well (21)

Finish: Nice barley notes with sweet apple pie (20)

Overall: This is a pleasant enough dram for sipping but it lacks a full flavour and complexity (20) 81/100


Found at: Quaich Bar, La Maison Du Whisky, The Auld Alliance

Name: Nikka Whisky From the Barrel
Distillery: Nikka (Miyagikou and Yoichi)
Age Statement: Nil
Type: Blended Malt
Alc/Vol: 51.4%

The Nikka From the Barrel has garnered immense praise from all quarters of the whisky loving world in recent years. Full of flavour and packing a real punch, it was award top in its class during the 2007 and 2010 World Whiskies Awards, and is also seen as a real bargain buy due to its very affordable price. Mixed with whiskies from both Nikka distilleries just like Taketsuru series, the Nikka From the Barrel is bottled at an extremely health 51.4%, bestowing it with loads of flavour and a real kick.

I admit to a bit of bias here though, the Nikka From the Barrel was the first Japanese whisky I ever tasted, and it was the one that got me hooked on whiskies from Japan. I know people criticise Japanese blends as they do not have restrictions on the amount of years a whisky needs to be matured before it can be put into a blend, but I personally think that this dram is a shining example of blended and the mastery of Japanese whisky making. And quite frankly, we can criticise all we want, but hey, a good whisky's a good whisky, and I think that's the most important thing!

Nose: Rich and extremely powerful and full of flavour. dried orange peel, blackforest cake, huge notes of vanilla and caramel. Manuka honey and nuts. Superb! (23)

Taste/Palate: An explosion of strong flavours! Sweet rich start of honey followed by a big hit of spices that is peppery. Creaminess of nuts and salted pie crust (23)

Finish: Malty and with the nice nuttiness bringing up the rear, perhaps the least spectacular part of the dram (22)


Overall: A fantastic dram that reflects the brilliance of Japanese whisky-making. Well balanced, full of flavour, rich perfumed nose, a true star. (24) 92/100


Found at: La Maison Du Whisky, The Auld Alliance, Quaich Bar, Drinksfellas