Nikka Tsuru 17 Year Old

Last night, my good friend Igor Kossov hosted a Nikka whisky tasting for a couple of us, including the guys who run scotchblog.ca. There were six whiskies on offer - and I was able to bring samples back - lucky me! And lucky you too, for now you get to read about them.

Nikka is Japan's second largest distillery company (now owned by Asahi Breweries), comprising two malt distilleries: Yoichi and Miyagikyo. Through these two comes forth all of Nikka's blends, blended malts and single malts. It was founded in 1933 by Masataka Taketsuru (after he left Yamazaki), who learned about whisky making in Scotland, at Longmorn and Hazelburn. I have previously written a comparison of two Nikka blended malts (17 Year Old and 21 Year Old) for MaltBlog, but nothing on here yet.

The colour is a gorgeous medium-to-dark gold. The nose is very floral, with light honey, vanilla, and a slight ribbon of caramel. Also citrusy, with orange and lemon. Water brings out more soft fruit, like peach and green apple. Not unlike a Hibiki 12 but more refined. Also a hint of mint chocolate. Absolutely beautiful nose, classically blended Japanese.

The palate is rich with more honey, sharply aged grain, vanilla and the faintest hint of smoke. Water brings all those flavours forward very nicely. Soft, luxurious mouthfeel. This is a fantastic blend.

The finish is long and very rich, nutty with walnuts, and some caramel. This is a wonderful whisky (and comes in a great decanter) but not easy to find, I don't think.

Find where to buy Nikka whisky