Nikka Whisky From the Barrel

Nose: intense, toasty, spicy, citrus Palate: butterscotch, warm fruit, citrus, ginger, wood, edgy, smoke. A bourbon that takes on brief scotch profile and reverts quickly back. Finish: bold, long

Nose: a lot of cereal notes. Much like a scotch. Not as fruit forward as Yamazaki or hakushu 12 years, but there is slight pear. Palate: a lot of pear and cereal up front with a tiny tiny smokiness coming through the middle to end. Finish: smoky with the pear fading out. Overall: fairly impressed. I wouldn’t sip this daily or need a back up but I do like this and it holds its own against the hakushu 12 & Yamazaki 12.

Nose - orange zest, salted caramel, banana, pecan, walnut, brown sugar oatmeal, chocolate, cinnamon, nutmeg, miso, sweet cream, water chestnut, barrel spice, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - raisins, orange zest, chocolate, salted caramel and toffee, banana foster, coconut, creamy vanilla ice cream, chili pepper, mild soy sauce, miso, grape, sweet and spicy barrel notes, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, spearmint, moderate alcohol bite, finishing moderately long with lingering creamy vanilla, pepper, and sweet nutty flavors. The subtlety of the nose belies the explosion of flavor hidden beneath. This is like drinking a dessert, multiple different desserts, yet it maintains a beautiful harmony between the sweet, sour, spicy, and savory components without one dominating the others. This is delicious; every sip unearths a flavor I missed in the previous and pulls me back in for another.

Zacht, blijft niet hangen. Proeft lekker.

Nose: Rich, creamy, (salty almost) caramel. A faint touch of smoke, very subtile and well integrated. Some minor fruitiness. All-in-all it is almost a bit reminicent of crispy fried bananas with caramel. Palate: More caramel, with a well balanced (and not overpowering!) sweetness. The alcohol bites, giving a peppery touch. Rich, creamy and robust (but without being nutty). More banana - banana peel almost. Just an ounce of smoke, not at all pervasive but just enough to add richness and nuance. Finish: Medium long, rich and robust. No bitterness whatsoever. The notes from the palate lingers and fades slowly. Overall: Well integrated. Smooth yet far from being one-dimensional! A very accessible dram which is easy to like, perfect as a quality sipper or as a gift. I would not have guessed it’s a blend. I score it 4.25, being a really really good whisky!