Nikka Taketsuru is the other major player in exported whisky from Japan. They produce many different grain and blended malts with terminology I sometimes find confusing. Pure Malt, Coffey Grain/Malt, Yiochi single malt, Miyagiyo single malt, Nikka Black, White and Red… I could go on. But it’s just a label, what’s important is the taste. I selected a few of the most easily available younger whiskies from Nikka, as there is already the ruck forming for Nikka aged malts, forcing the prices up in the last 18 months. A Nikka 21 could be bought for as little as £90, 12 months ago. Now very few retail outlets or online suppliers have it in stock and if they do you can pay anything from £180 to £300 per bottle. At auction you can still pick up older Nikka malts for well under £100.

To start with a couple of blended single malts from Togoushi. I think they are interesting and were a gateway for me into appreciating Japanese whisky and not comparing it to Scottish whisky as it has very different qualities, good qualities.

Togoushi Premium Blend 40 vol.

£40 to £60

This is the one that made me look at Japanese whisky differently. I’d only tried younger Suntory malts up until this point and on the whole had been disappointed. I found them too hot out of the bottle and lacking something.

A regular Islay drinking customer was the unlikely introductory source. He is a big cask strength Islay guy, stuff you can eat with a spoon – really smoky and thick, the whisky, not him! So when I saw him perusing the blended Japanese whisky shelf I was perplexed. He brought the Togoushi Blend to the till, after a prolonged period of me bemoaning losing him to the ‘light side’, he opened to bottle to shut me up. And it did. I should know better then to judge different as meaning bad necessarily.

A delicate blend of Scottish malt and Canadian grain whisky gives this a light, tropical fruit, tangerine nose, smells really sweet. There’s a touch of oak bitterness, which is no more than a contrast to the fruity sweetness. It’s so subtle “it’s not whisky as we know it Jim”. It’s Japanese whisky! It’s almost tequila like in texture and finish, but fruity and sweet with it. Clean, no hint of added caramel, really fresh. Togoushi is matured in old railway tunnels apparently. I don’t know if it adds to the flavour, but a good story adds to the appeal of whisky. You’re not just buying an alcoholic liquid, you’re buying the history of that individual whisky. For me this is why whisky is endlessly interesting. It has history and provenance due to the dedication, skill and time that goes into making it.

The presentation is pleasingly Japanese. Textured ‘hand made’ paper, minimal, the bottle feels like you’re holding a crafted stone bottle or an ancient artifact. This is a great wildcard gift purchase for spirit or seasoned malt drinkers. I should imagine this would make an excellent cocktail whisky. Its lighter grain flavour and more floral character would work well with tropical fruity concoctions.

Togoushi 12 Year Old 46 vol

£60 to 80

Light in colour and the nose is immediately earthy, the smell of the pavement after a rainstorm. There’s a hint of fruity caramel and honey. Sweet straight away followed by an earthiness that elevates this whisky in complexity from it’s none aged signature younger brother described above. The sweetness is less powdered sugar, more Demerara. This is more like whisky, as we know it. The balance of richer, more toffee apple sweetness and peat are lovely and mouth wateringly drinkable. It just leaves me wishing the finish was longer. For me, it needs just a little more punch. There’s no after burn in your chest. Be warned, you’ll drink this like a £30 blend, a tad faster than you’d ideally like to and it’s not cheap. I’d love to give the Togoushi 18 a go, I’d hope with more age the finish would spice up a bit, leave more of a lasting impression.

Nikka Coffey Grain 45% vol

£45 to £75

The delicate smell is masked by alcohol in the glass. A more fragrant smell out of the bottle – think marmalade, cinnamon and soft tropical fruit.

I would describe this whisky as a taste explosion with a short, but madly intense finish. Golden syrup, honey, light caramel maltiness coats the pallet then BOOM! Spicy tannins make your mouth water uncontrollably, sweet pink grapefruit, peppery heat, intense then gone. Perfect for summer nights with it’s bitter sweet, drinkable nature, how something can be intense, yet light and refreshing is a mystery, but it kind of is, my mouth is watering just writing about it! The finish is a brief encounter, but no ‘wham bam thank you mam!’ it’s more ‘Are you on Facebook? Can we be friends?’ You could get very drunk on this friendship…

Readily available, The Whisky Exchange and Master Of Malt still have plenty of stock. If you fall for its charms, there’s nothing else like it. Buy a couple now, as I think this one will become harder to find soon and the price will inevitably increase. For my stateside readers, Beacon Wines and Spirits on Broadway have it at a good price: $63.99.

Nikka Coffey Malt 45% vol

£45 to £75

Buttery and sweet smell, minimal spice burning your nostrils – I’m looking forward to this one!

Oh my! Butterscotch, toffee sauce coating my mouth, sweet maltiness then a light touch of citrus oak and gentle tingly heat to finish, then gone. Wow, like it, like it a lot. Much thicker, creamy and less mouth watering than the grain version, a lighter white peppery finish, Yikes!- you can really get into trouble with this one, love it. This is an all year round malt. Refreshing enough for hot summer evenings and luxurious enough for a chilly winters evening.

Nikka Pure Malt 45 vol

£42 to £65

After tasting Coffey stuff, this is not as interesting as I remember it. Actuality on second swig still lovely and worryingly easy to drink, even for me and I’m a lightweight. Less buttery than the Coffey malt, less grapefruit than the Coffey grain, it has a good balance of oak and sweetness. For Brighton types, you can try this for £3 a shot at The Wagon and Horses. They keep a good selection of Japanese and other whiskies if you want to try before you buy. Otherwise you can buy 3cl taster bottles from Masters of Malt online from as little as £4 a go. I spent just over £30 on 5 different Japanese malts to sample for this blog – excellent value.

Out of the three Coffey Malt is the one for me. It’s the sweet thing, and I have a sweet tooth big time, followed by the Coffey Grain and then the Pure Malt. The Pure Malt is the easiest to drink but next to the Coffey stuff less impressive. I’d pay the extra £5, £10 for the Coffey any day. It’s a readily available retail buy and still reasonably price, for now anyway.

Miyagiyo NAS 43 vol

£39 to £60

The smell of the bottle is light honey, toffee, and fruit – lychee maybe – perfumed fruit anyway. In the glass it has a more hairspray, alcohol smell worryingly.

Wow again. Old Takensuru knows how to make your mouth water. Just the right amount of spice and oakiness, never bitter, leaves your mouth watering with a white peppery heat. The finish is interesting. I got this a lot with Nikka Pure Malts. The finish is relatively short, but your mouth continues to water with a gentle oaky spice for a pleasing amount of time. This is the first one I think might be interesting with a drop of water. Generally I don’t put any water with the younger Japanese whiskies. Some of the blends are good with ice, but drink it quickly, before the ice totally melts. Whilst the nose is initially sweeter as you would hope with a drop water, after tasting its immediately apparent that it’s better without. The texture has gone, the sweetness has gone, the finish has gone. The definition has gone, it’s become mushy and bitter. Adding water shows up the young age of this whisky – overall for me it’s better without water or ice.

Yoichi NAS 43 vol

£39 to £60

This whisky has a spicy nose, not sure what I’m smelling exactly, maybe cardamom or perhaps Indian spices and very fruity with a hint of vanilla, earthy rather than outright peaty, but sweet. Hurrah – I like sweet and smoky! More alcohol smell in the glass but still smells sweet. Phew! Oh no – another cracker. There is absolutely no excessive burn at all. This whisky has a light texture, a short finish and is a real drinker. The peat is minimal, less than I remember on first tasting, it’s more like umami – it enhances the flavour by extending the complexity of finish with a subtle savouryness. Maybe because I’m a smoker I don’t always get the more subtle smoke hints. I brought this for a friend who gave me some work as a thank you. It was 11:30 in the morning but I was desperate to try it so I made him open it. We could have finished the bottle on a Tuesday, before 12 o’clock. So be warned THIS IS A DRINKER!!

Yoichi 10 Year Old 43 vol

£65 to 120

Only yesterday I was banging on about Japanese whisky not being smoky enough, specially the aged malts. I sometime miss the value of a touch of peat, rather than a shovel (rutter) full. Again, Japanese peated whisky has it’s own style different than Scottish. I don’t taste smoke, but I do get an earthiness, saline, coastal favour, not overly sweet. It’s subtle, but it makes you take your time. A light oaky finish, this whisky keeps your mouth watering and you do get the chest warming finish, which was lacking in the Togoushi. I like it, but I don’t love it. I can appreciate the lightness of touch, but for me I like more intensity and texture. If you’re a Johnny Walker Black/ Double Black fan, you’ll like this. A Laphroaig drinker might enjoy this more than Ardbeg drinkers. It’s earthy more than smoky and has that rainwater in ashtray quality I associate with Laphroaig 10. A good summertime peaty dram and you don’t wake up the morning after with the taste of a bonfire in your mouth. The price is already rising, as it has with all age signature Japanese whiskies – the Great Japanese Whisky Gold Rush is far reaching indeed.

Nikka Pure Malt Black 40 vol

£35 to £60

To end with I thought I’d try a Nikka blend, not my favourite style to be honest. Much less sweet on the nose, it smells like a blend out of the bottle. In the glass however it has a much more interesting light, toffee sweet, cola fruity, earthy smell. A blend of Yiochi and Miyagiyo – it’s bloody lovely! I say that not being a blend fan. This whisky has a light oaky spiciness; it’s not hot as I expect from a blend straight out of the bottle. If you can stand to leave it 15 minutes, it sweetens further. A well-rounded satisfying blend, again Johnny Walker Black/Green and Double black will enjoy this, there’s more body than expected in this little bottle (sold in 50 cls).

My major issue with blends is that they tend to be too hot and alcoholy out of the bottle. I have no problem with this one however. It’s a sweet, buttery explosion, something Nikka seem to do really well, and a reason I think Japanese whisky has found a wider audience. Mellow, the heat is never overwhelming and the finish is intense but short lived. It has some resemblance to the Togouchi 12 in the balance of fruit and peat. The finish is longer and you get a gentle comforting heat in your chest. It could turn me into a blend drinker and I could afford to drink this blend, unlike the Togouchi 12.

 

In conclusion, they’re really nice. I much prefer all of the above to the Suntory stuff I’ve tried. Having said that, I have revisited Hakashu 12 recently, and I can only concur with my friend Lyn at the Guildford Whisky Shop review, it’s lovely. Subtle smoke and fruit but sweeter on the finish compared to the Yoichi 10, which is fine by me. I even got the touch of mint on the tip of my tongue. You know your stuff Lyn!

Non-age signature Nikka whiskies are the way to go if you are looking for an affordable Japanese whisky. For something different, give the Togoushi a go, I think it’s a great gift for an adventurous whisky/spirit drinker or budding mixologyist.

For me, Coffey Malt and Grain are readily available and illustrate Japanese style whisky in all its glory. An intense cymbal burst of flavour, that keeps your taste buds vibrating with a sweet citric, peppery finish. Surprisingly the Nikka Black blend is also up there, a must for blend drinkers and single malt drinkers looking for a lighter peated touch. Very smooth – worryingly smooth – it could turn an afternoon snifter into a 7 o’clock stagger home. This whisky is very drinkable and more complex than the Hibiki 12, it’s less vanilla sweet.

With all these whiskies I would advise drinking without water, maybe an ice cube in the Togouchi if you drink it fast, but not the Nikka stuff. If you like it cold, freeze a thick-bottomed tumbler or use drink stones instead. Don’t muddy the water – with water. For me water takes away the pleasing texture and sweetness and turns the whisky bitter. This points to lack of depth in the whisky, or in this case lack of age. I think Nikka have mastered the skill of producing young whisky which has it’s own character. Fruity, well balance with oak spice, with an intense mouth watering quality. They don’t have the depth  and longevity of flavour of some Scotch whiskies, but they more than make up for this by being well defined and bright on the palate, rich with fruit and grain flavours. They taste very clean, I don’t know if they add anything to enhance the flavour, it doesn’t taste like it.

Already prices are rising, demand outstripping supply, I can see why. It’s a much lighter more accessible dram, you don’t have to love whisky to like Japanese whisky, it’s different, it’s good stuff, try it before it’s gone.

NB: ‘Coffey’- relates to the kind of still used for distilling. It’s a continuous distillation process.

 

It’s all about the Finish??