Nikka Coffey Gin

Nose: bright strong yuzu. White pepper. Palate: smooth for the proof. Prominent Yuzu, a small but noticeable malt sweetness. Coriander. Orange. Finish: a little sharp, slightly warm and a bit spicy

Continuing my experimentation into the world of Gin after the mighty impressive Monkey 47 opened my eyes to a new segment, I immediately recognized the Nikka Coffey series from my deep love affair with whiskey. So of course, I had to try this Gin, distilled in Coffey stills. Its difficult for me to pick up anything more than citrus on the nose but that might not be a bad thing. It's incredibly bright and vibrant. Often times in whiskey, noses are dark, sugary and sweet. Or smokey, or tannic. But not here. In fact this smells like a lemon/lime spritzer in the most summery fashion. A very carefully placed, deeper inhale picks up some sweet corn syrup, too that almost makes it smell like lemon/lime soda. The taste takes off with incredible sweetness. Sugary lemon lime soda definitely opens up on the taste: if I didn't know I was drinking this neat I would swear it was mixed with a little 7up. But as mid taste crests, a mild peppery tingle kicks in. Ground peppercorns and shishito peppers perhaps? That combo of citrus and pepper really brings to mind delicious Yuzu pepper sauce. The finish does dry up some but still stays incredibly citrusy. Juniper finally makes its appearance along with some slightly spicy ground coriander. This Gin is exploding with citrus. It honestly tastes like some sort of cocktail made with 7up. That's not necessarily a bad thing though. I could see this being very advantageous for making a bright, summery Gin and Tonic. In fact, given that my area is currently smack dab in the middle of a heat wave ( highs of 104 expected tomorrow!! ), I think I'll go ahead and have one now.