This Japanese whisky is from Nikka, one of the biggest beverage companies in Japan. This whisky is distilled in the Miyagakyo distillery in Sendai north of Japan. To be honest I am excited about this Nikka Coffey Grain Whisky! Why you might say, let us break down this whisky:
1. Nikka - Nikka Whisky founded by Masataka Taketsuru in 1934 and famous for its blended whiskies. Nikka is one of the biggest distillers in Japan it also owns the Miyagakyo and Yoichi brands. Japanese whisky is one of my favourite dark horses in the whisky world and if you are a Japanese whisky fan you should be excited about this.
2 Coffey - Referring to the Coffey Stills (Aeneas Coffey) - In Scotland "Malt whisky" whisky must be distilled in a pot still, whereas grain whisky is typically distilled in a Coffey still. A Coffey still was named after its creator Aeneas Coffey.
As a quick overview of a Coffey still it contains two column stills, the first column still (Analyser) has steam rising and wash descending through the column levels.
The second column (rectifier) carriers the alcohol from the wash and it cools down the column still until it can condense to the designed strength.
You can think of a Column still like continuous series of pot stills, so a pot still might have up to say 50% alcohol a Coffey still can obtain as high as a 90% alcohol. So generally speaking Coffey stills may have a higher ABV but usually compared to Pot stills have a less flavorful spirit.
In this case Nikka uses 2x Coffey stills within the Miyagiko distillery, they were imported from Scotland in 1963.
3. Grain Whisky - Grain whisky contains one or more other gains such as wheat, rye or corn (this case it's corn). Grain whisky may contain some malts but usually a smaller percentage.. Most American and Canadian whiskies are grain (other than malt) based whiskies.
Let me set you straight from the start this is not a "typical" whisky, even Nikka noted on their webpage "It is meant for the connoisseur in search of an unconventional whisky"
So maybe you could be thinking ok not a Scotch or a Single Malt... not interested... that is fine, but let me tell you one more piece of information.
Jim Murray gave this whisky a score of 94.5 out of 100. This is higher than the Yamazaki 12, Lagavulin 16, and 0.5 higher than the Sullivan's Cove French Oak.
Got your attention now?
Nikka also has the Nikka Coffey Malt in this range
Tasting Notes from Nikka:
Exotic, Fruity and Unique.
ABV of 45%
Few simple words but the Japanese like to have their whisky do the talking!
Light straw in colour, foral, vanilla nose with a strong and spicy finish. From the label and type of distilling it should give me a similar taste to American and Canadian whisky, however it was different it has a Scottish side to it. To be honest I was slightly disappointed, it is certainly different but I wasn't sure it deserved such a high score. It's good,above average is my personal opinion from my first tasting.
Google Street View of the Nikka Sendai distillery along with my comments... ...
So now to the price.. With such a good reputation, what do you expect to pay for this whisky? Well for this whisky it all depends where you get it from. If you were in Australia, I have seen it online for around $150 AUD, which for the reputation is within the ball park. However if you were in Japan...
This is a readily available bottle in Japan, I purchased mine from a super market liquor section. I paid around $50 AUD for it... that’s right it's a sub $50 AUD whisky. You can understand why though... it's a grain whisky, No Age Statement and a blend.
So now taking everything into consideration, the price, the taste and the availability. If you were in Australia and had to pay $150 AUD for it i would say it's probably not worth it. For the same price you can obtain some really good whiskies which i think will give you a better experience for your buck. However if you were in Japan and could obtain a bottle for a relatively good price I would definitely recommend it! If you are into whiskies and want to understand the differences between the different way it is distilled (Pot Still vs Coffey Stills) and the Malt vs Corn grain base, this whisky would be a excellent step towards greater understanding.
I would note that since it's so different from the other whiskies I usually drink I would need to review this whisky again to see if it grows on me. Allot of times you would need to develop the taste and palette for difference whiskies styles e.g. Ardbeg or Laphroaig. So the mark i will give today will be how I feel about it today but i think i would need to come back and re-review this one after I finish the bottle!
One final note if you were thinking of picking up a bottle to try i would also recommend the other whisky in this range, The Nikka Coffey Malt, its brother was given a 97 by Jim Murray and it's the same price! Decisions Decisions right...
It's no wonder why Japanese whisky is so popular right now!
Taste: 7.6
Price: $$
Cost per shot: $6.4 (Australia imported pricing)
Rarity: Hard to find in Australia but common in Japan
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May 2016
- May 4, 2016 Ardbeg Uigeadail May 4, 2016
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April 2016
- Apr 22, 2016 Glen Orrin 30 Years Apr 22, 2016
- Apr 15, 2016 Hakushu 12 Years SMW Apr 15, 2016
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March 2016
- Mar 28, 2016 Nikka Coffey Grain Whisky Mar 28, 2016
- Mar 22, 2016 World Whiskies Awards 2016 Mar 22, 2016
- Mar 18, 2016 Glen Grant 10 Years Mar 18, 2016
- Mar 11, 2016 Sullivans Cove French Oak Cask Mar 11, 2016
- Mar 4, 2016 The Macallan 12 years Sherry Cask Mar 4, 2016
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February 2016
- Feb 26, 2016 Monkey Shoulders Blended Malt Feb 26, 2016
- Feb 19, 2016 Whisky 101 - Understanding the Label Feb 19, 2016
- Feb 12, 2016 Amrut Fusion SMW Feb 12, 2016
- Feb 8, 2016 Lagavulin 16 Years Old Feb 8, 2016
- Feb 7, 2016 The Yamazaki Single Malt 12 years old Feb 7, 2016