The Nikka 12 Year Old Whisky 43% 70cl

Description

The Nikka 12 Year Old Whisky is a blended Japanese whisky is a showcase of the Nikka blender’s skill. It is a blend of malt whiskies from their two distilleries, Yoichi and Miyagikyo, with some grain whisky distilled in a Coffey still at Miyagikyo.

The history of Nikka Whisky can be traced back to 1918 Masataka Taketsuru, the founder of Nikka Whisky, embarked on a long voyage to Scotland and, after enrolling at Glasgow University, became the first Japanese person ever to study whisky making. He took chemistry courses at the university and apprenticed at distilleries, learning first-hand from craftsmen and received training as a blender. Masataka would later become known as a master blender. After returning to Japan in 1920 Masataka began work for a company who would produce Japan’s first whisky. In 1934, Masataka struck out on his own and established Nikka Whisky and built its first distillery in Yoichi, Hokkaido, which he had always considered to be the ideal site in Japan for whisky-making. This was later joined, in 1969, by the Miyagikyo Distillery in Sendai (lat.38 N), Miyagi Prefecture, northern Honshu.

As mentioned above, The Nikka 12 Year Old Blend is a blend of malt whisky and grain. The Yoichi distillery produces a richer, masculine malt whilst the Miyagikyo distillery produces a  soft and luxuriantly fragrant malt and a the  softer, sweeter grain spirit in the Coffey still that completes the blend. A malty, soft and well-balanced blend.

The Nikka 12 Year Old Blend has a smart looking bottle which has an asymmetric design inspired by the neck of a  Kimono robe and a golden emblem design by Masataka Taketsuru for his very first Nikka whisky bottle.