Nikka Whisky From the Barrel

Every sip tastes like a different Nikka as you work your way through the bottle. So half of them are great and half are pedestrian. Roll the dice dawg.

Heads-up this review is a few months behind. I drafted it a while back but it wasn’t ready for posting. Finally got through the spell checks, syntax, etc. Here goes… My first real Japanese dram. Wasn’t sure what to expect but it wasn’t this. If I tried this on a blind taste, I would have guessed a Scottish Speysider – floral, fruity and enveloped by sherry (READ: sherry-forward). Nonetheless, let’s dig in: CONTEXT: Paris CDG airport with two of my best buds, waiting to board a flight to Madrid (second stop on a three-city short euro-trip). Our first boys trip together LA --> Paris --> Madrid --> Barcelona --> Paris --> LA. As always, ever since I started my whiskey-collection journey, I always check out the international duty-free. So here I am at Charles De Gaulle airport, on the euro side, and of course had to drop in on the local duty-free. VERY slim pickings at the CDG “domestic side” duty-free but I did see the Nikka from the Barrel (NftB) on the shelf for $34 Euros. Started to think it might be a good idea to pick up a bottle for night caps with my buds during our trip (keep in mind I already own 3 unopened bottles of NftB in my collection) …but like I said, slim pickings. It was either this, or 1-liter bottles of Glenlivet, and Monkey Shoulder. Apologies in advance from my stereotype-laced judgment but any scotch that’s bottled in 1-liter containers is an automatic No-Go for me! (OK, maybe a couple of exceptions.) My logic – if it was that good, they wouldn’t be [essentially] “giving it away”. But I’m happy to stand corrected. Throw out names of really high quality, 1-liter dufry bottles, and I’ll take it all back. I do have my mind set on picking up the 1-liter bottle of Caol Ila Distiller’s Edition next time I swing through Heathrow. But I digress. I think I got played (or it felt like it) by the salesperson at the duty-free counter. She apparently had to add back the VAT because I was travelling to another EU country, so our flight was considered a domestic flight. So no duty free! Urgh…grrrrggh. I call BS! So final price was in the neighborhood of $42 euros, which I think was over $50 bucks after conversion at the time! For a 500ml no less. Too late to pull back now…I already got my boys’ hopes up. On to the tasting! So first night cap in Madrid, second night cap in Paris (skipped a night cap in Barcelona) …all worth it NOSE: Incredible nose…almost bourbon-like! I could nose this indefinitely if time were limitless, and/or I didn’t have other drams to check out. Almost a perfect, albeit, subtle balance of caramel, vanilla and sweet sherry rancio, with a hint of smoke coming in last minute to the party. It’s was as if caramel, vanilla and sherry were heading to an olfactory party and last minute decided to make quick detour to a friend’s and ended up bringing a +1 to the soiree. PALATE: Strong sherry influence. Not yet well-versed on my sherries but I dare guess it’s Oloroso. Vanilla & caramel continue through on to the front & mid-palate from the nose. Some light smoke makes an appearance late but almost apologetically...like it sneaked in through the back door. Simply put, this is a well-balanced dram. Overall, it drank so much more like a sherried scotch. I felt I was missing the “Japanese essence”, although to be perfectly honest, I’m not exactly sure what that means or what to expect from a Japanese whiskey. I have not sampled a lot of them, so my Japanese taste library is relatively scant. Still, a pretty decent dram indeed. FINISH: Sherry and caramel continue through a relatively short finish. The smoke disappears almost as soon as it appears as if to remind you that it wasn’t supposed to be there in the first place. Light coating on the tongue lingers but can’t quite figure out what the after taste is. Kinda leaves you wanting more but I can’t quite decide whether it’s in a good or bad way. FINAL VERDICT: Solid 3.75 - 4 (I could potentially change after I spend more time with this bottle…OR…sample more Japanese whiskies). This one is a bit of an enigma. Noses like a bourbon, drinks a like a Speyside single malt. The die is cast…and the bar has been auspiciously set, my friends. Try, own or pass? I say definitely try! Own…if you can find a bottle at retail.