Whiskies from Japan.
June 15, 2020
Nikka Miyagikyo Single Malt is a smoky non-age-statement (NAS) whisky by The Nikka Whisky Distilling Co. I ran into this Japanese whisky on a whisky fair in Turku, Finland. So these are quick tasting notes based on rapid sampling. So the whisky comes from Nikka Group’s youngest distillery, the Miyagikyo […]
April 29, 2018
Suntory Hibiki Japanese Harmony Master’s Select is an exclusive limited edition of Hibiki Japanese Harmony, originally made for travel retail market. Hibiki’s brand represents the Japanese style of blending in its trademark 24-faceted bottle. They blend together Suntory’s Yamazaki and Hakushu malt whiskies with some Chita distillery’s grain whisky. Hibiki […]
December 12, 2016
Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt is a non-age-statement blended malt expression from The Nikka Whisky Distilling Co. Japanese call blended a.k.a vatted malts as pure malts. So named after the company’s founder Masataka Taketsuru, this blended malt is called Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt. It has plenty of malt whisky from the […]
July 3, 2016
I recently had a chance to try a sample of Suntory Whisky Royal aged 15 years. I got a sample from a friend of mine at a local social evening. There’s not much information about this blended Japanese whisky. Apparently it was first released in 1997 and it is known […]
February 23, 2016
The whisky industry is booming with NAS products (non age statement) so two of Suntory’s malt distilleries, Yamazaki and Hakushu decided to jump on the NAS wagon by releasing Distiller’s Reserve whiskies without age statement. Released in the spring of 2014, I finally got my hands on Yamazaki Distiller’s Reserve. Well, […]
June 22, 2015
Nikka Whisky From The Barrel is a marriage of malt and grain whisky blended together. It has been bottled directly from the re-casked whisky barrels. This Japanese blend is a prize winning dram – it got the top prize in its category at the World Whisky Awards in 2007 and […]
February 18, 2015
Nikka Yoichi 10 year old single malt comes from the Hokkaido island in Japan. Matured in new oak Hogshead barrels, which are built on-site. In conditions, where the temperature varies very much. Yoichi 10YO is like velvet in your mouth. Manages to be oily enough, but not too oily to […]
August 26, 2014
Yamazaki distillery is located in Shimamoto, Osaka Prefecture in Japan. The distillery was opened in 1923, and it is owned by Suntory, being Japan’s first commercial whisky distillery. Yamazaki 18 year old was the first ever Japanese whisky for me. What a way to start! After this dram, I was […]
June 10, 2014
Nikka’s product range can be a bit confusing, because there’s products with similar names. Blended whisky is a good example: Nikka has The Blend and Blended Whisky – 2 different products. I actually didn’t know, which one I was getting, when ordering my dram. Well, the one I got and am reviewing […]
June 3, 2014
12 year old single malt by Suntory Yamazaki has been in the market since 1984. It was the first Japanese whisky with big marketing on the background. Michael Jackson of Whisky Magazine has stated: “Yamazaki 12 year old is a pioneering malt in Japan, for which Suntory deserve great credit. […]
April 30, 2014
RUSH HOUR dram from Japan Nicknamed as “Bearded Black” Black Nikka Special has been in the market since 1965. A Japanese classic blend distilled in two-column Coffey stills. For a blended whisky, it was fairly drinkable, a househould dram suitable for people on the go. Nikka Black Special is a […]
March 21, 2014
This Suntory owned Hibiki 12 year old whisky is actually a blend. I couldn’t believe it for the first time I got to taste it. Another curiosity: some of the whisky has been part-matured in Umeshu plum liqueur casks. The malts are from Suntory owned Hakushu and Yamazaki distilleries, with […]