LET ' S TALK ABOUT WHISKY By David Beaufort-Dysart
W L FOOD & DRINK
LET ' S TALK ABOUT WHISKY By David Beaufort-Dysart
Konnichiwa again, fellow Whisky lovers.
As we continue with our Japanese Whisky Journey, we are heading over to the second- largest island of Japan, Hokkaido. The climate here is closest to that of Scotland, offering cold temperatures, the right level of humidity, with crisp, pure air and plenty of good water.
Just to recap on two of our Whisky hero ' s: Shinjiro Torii and Masataka Taketsuru; whose partnership founded the Whisky industry in Japan. After a successful time with Tori, Taketsuru left Suntory in 1934 and moved to the island of Hokkaido, with a vision to create his own distillery, thus Nikka was born.
What are we tasting today?
Nikka from the Barrel. Before we taste, lets clear something up because the powers that be say we can ' t really call this Japanese Whisky.... why you may well ask?!
In February 2021, a new set of rules were issued by the ' Japan Spirits & Liqueurs Makers Association '. The new regs were aimed to tighten restrictions around which spirits can call themselves ' Japanese Whisky '. This is similar to the rules that protect what can be labelled as ' Scotch Whisky ' under European legislation and practices by the Scotch Whisky Association.
The rules look at the provenance of the spirits, how they are distilled, matured and how they are bottled. Without pulling out the logbook from the JSLMA Association ', it means they are using Whiskies from outside of Japan and rumour has it they use a little from The Ben Nevis distillery in Scotland( Nikka own Ben Nevis!). Nikka has updated their website to explain all of this, I do like the way they are being totally
transparent about it. Afterall it is the quality we are judging here, also remember Japanese Whisky distillers are master craftsman when it comes to blending, so why not use what is available! Anyway, with that said let us get inside the Barrel with Nikka!
First released in 1985; I love the simplicity of the bottle, square " like a block of Whisky from the barrel " is literally what they are trying to reflect. ' Intense and rich ', if you have ever had the pure pleasure of smelling Whisky straight from a barrel you will know it is something else; for me it was an epiphany, an emotional experience, it nearly brought me to tears, the intensity and breadth of aroma ' s was just sublime. ' Get a grip ' I hear you say! wish I could have got an actual ' grip ' of both ends of the barrel! and run for the hills.
From the barrel, 51.4 % ABV 50cl, notice it is a smaller bottle however at 51.4 % it’ s a higher abv. ' Less is more ' as they say. This Whisky comes from a blend of more than a one hundred different malts and grain Whiskies.
Nose: spicy, pepper, sweet orange, and vanilla pod. Taste: sweetness. clove and cinnamon. Finish: nicely rounded, rich and intense yet balanced. Try it neat or as the Japanese say try it ' mizuwari '( served with water and ice)
“ There are flavours in it, insinuating and remote, from mountain torrents and the scanty soil on moorland rocks and slanting, rare sun-shafts.” Aeneas MacDonald, 1930, Whisky writer
Until next time friends... Slàinté
28 wirrallife. com