This Japanese blend from Nikka contains whisky from both the Yoichi and Miyagikyo distilleries. It’s all NAS juice, but it is comprised of all Japanese malt and grain whisky. It’s limited to the European Union countries and not available here in the states. I added a bottle of this to an international order back in the spring of 2019. It’s bottled at 40% and I got it for $34. So, it was an easy throw-in bottle to a medium-sized order.
It’s shimmering gold in the tasting glass with watery, fat legs and very heavy, watery droplets. The nose is mostly floral with vanilla pound cake and some slightly astringent and distant citrus notes. There’s no need to let it linger prior to going in for a taste- it doesn’t open up to any surprises or complexities. The palate is all cereals and light malts, with more floral and bready components. There’s some orchard fruits like pears and red delicious apples forming a mid sip backbone. The finish is short and somewhat sweet, vanilla and toffee candies that lead to the ultimate final dry florals. It’s so easy drinking it’s scary.
Ultimately, I’m not sure what this could be used for except adding alcohol to a weak, fruity cocktail or tossing in some ice cubes and drinking it while mingling with friends at some backyard cookout or party. You can brag about drinking the “new hotness: Japanese whisky” without spending serious money on the heavy hitter bottles. There is that, I suppose. Overall, it’s a 2.5 star dram with a slight bump for the low price, but sadly it’s not available in North America. So, the bump gets retracted because it’s limited release for Europeans. If you can grab a bottle or a pour for less than $3-4 I’d say give it a go, otherwise, it’s easily forgettable. Cheers.
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@cascode Ah that makes sense I guess as the musty as aspect I find offensive blended may add a bit of character. Will keep an eye out for
@SolanaRoots @LeeEvolved I liked the one sample I had if the Kaiyo Mizunara. But this is a shady practice. In essence, unless it’s not the traditional names of Yamazaki, Yoichi, Miyakigo and Hakushu, don’t trust.
@SolanaRoots - damn. That is some shady info about Kaiyo. Putting teaspoons full of Japanese whisky into casks while out at sea seems downright corrupt. I will say, wherever they sourced their whisky, they did a helluva job blending it because it was quite tasty. But, with all this new info, I think I’m done buying anything else Japanese until they sort out all of this mess. Thanks for sharing the insightful information, fellas. Cheers to that.
@LeeEvolved Also read an interesting article on Kaiyo Whisky which I think you’ve reviewed in the past. https://thewhiskeywash.com/whiskey-styles/world/so-about-that-kaiyo-whisky/
@Slainte-Mhath - great read over on whiskeybase! I never really looked into any of the fake Japanese whisky stuff going on. I haven’t bought any expensive bottles in several years, but I have tried 3-4 of the cheaper things flooding the market now. I guess I was probably duped on some of them. Thankfully, I didn’t spend much on them or grab things hoping for investment bottles. Thanks for clearing things a bit for me.
Bottlings to avoid: Kurayoshi, Togouchi and anything that looks very Japanese with a brand name you have never heard of...
@LeeEvolved yeah, I knew Japanese whiskey had deceptive practices for most except the stellar high price ones ( Yamazaki, Yoichi, Hakushu, Miyagikyo, Hibiki 17/21). The others I think are questionable, but price much higher than their components which can be American or Scottish
@LeeEvolved Read my recent travel report on Japanese whisky if it interests you, it covers most of what is discussed here: https://www.whiskybase.com/contribute/group/73/topic/17837/japanese-whisky-at-the-crossroads-a-travel-report
@Slainte-Mhath - wow, that’s very deceptive. I had no idea that Japanese whisky had began using this type of practice. I assumed they simply removed age statements and went with much younger, but still entirely Japanese, stocks. That doesn’t strike me as very Japanese, though. I guess I assumed (again) that the honesty and honor that’s always associated with everything Japanese was spread throughout every industry in the country. Hmm, that’s very interesting (or I’m just very gullible lol.)
@LeeEvolved The lack of clear regulations in Japan is tempting for producers. Take Akashi Blended Whisky for example, they used grain whisky from Fuji Gotemba Distillery until recently, so it was 100% Japanese. When Kirin decided to no longer sell casks to other companies, Eigashima had to source their grain whisky in Scotland (Loch Lomond). However, the label still says 'Japanese blend'. Bad habits...
@Slainte-Mhath - I’m basing this only contains Japanese malts and grains based on info from Nikka’s website: https://www.nikkawhisky.eu/nikka/nikka-days/ I would hope they’d be pretty transparent about, but it is funny they didn’t add the word Japanese to the label, so maybe there is some shenanigans at play.
@Soba45 The Loch Lomond OBs under the LL badge (as opposed to the Inch-this and Inch-that releases) are a bit rough, but I can forgive them everything for one bottling, and surprisingly it's their cheapest product. Loch Lomond Reserve blended scotch is a cracking good whisky for mixing, IMHO. It's my blended scotch of choice and to me at least it beats the pants off anything else in the category. Oddly, it's way better than the LL Original, 12 year or 18 year malts. If you’ve never tried it, give it a go (well, unless you never drink whisky as a mixer – it’s not a sipping blend), it’s cheap as chips and you’ll be surprised how good it is.
@Slainte-Mhath Arghhh Loch Lomond... they must be desperate..IMHO worst distillery ever.. just when you think the Japanese whiskey market couldn't sink lower
@cascode Nikka has just discontinued their Nikka Coffey Malt + Grain (so they are even lacking column-distilled whisky!), and there are large quantities of Loch Lomond grain whisky being imported into Japan. Even if it says 'Japanese whisky' on the label, that's no guarantee that it is 100% Japanese, but the absence of it makes it even more likely that it contains something else.
@LeeEvolved Sounds like another competitor for the domestic Japanese highball blend market. @Slainte-Mhath I was wondering about that too, but from Lee's description this doesn't sound particularly like BN.
@LeeEvolved What makes you so sure it does only contain Yoichi and Miyagikyo? The word 'Japanese' is nowhere on the label, and there could be Ben Nevis or other malts in there.
Word has it while waiting out for older age stated stock, the japanses are going with very young NAS's for mixed drinks, vs releasing simi quality sippers like other markets do.
It sounds like it might be on par with Suntory's Toki, which is quite mild, totally inoffensive, and completely unspectacular.
I like the bragging rights comment. A lot of these just seem to have been pumped out to hit that niche!
@PBMichiganWolverine - definitely. I hoped these would’ve been little, hidden gems but it wasn’t to be. Although, I did finish this bottle in just over 2 weeks. It goes down very, very easily lol.
Sounds like a better option would be Hibiki Harmony or Nikka From the Barrel. Both inexpensive