It’s Day 2 of Drinks by the Dram’s #WhiskyAdvent and once again we get to open a window of the excellent Whisky Advent Calendar to see what delights lay within…
Starting with Speyside single malt Scotch yesterday, the second dram takes us all the way to Japan with Nikka’s Yoichi Non Age! If you’re now staring at your dram and thinking to yourself “Hey, hold on, mine says Miyagikyo Non Age”, then I believe we can explain… You see, these advent calendars have been so unbelievably popular this year, with sales surpassing all forecasts, that there are a very small number of days where not everybody could have the exact same dram. Indeed, we’ve been careful to ensure that the contents/spoilers of all the respective calendars were always up to date on the product pages of our site to reflect where this may happen. What we have today then are two single malts from Nikka’s two malt whisky distilleries, set up by the great Masataka Taketsuru (whose own story has recently reached a new generation in his native Japan thanks to the popular television serial Massan).
On the one hand there’s Yoichi with its direct-coal-fired stills, founded in 1934, peaty but also fruity, on the other Miyagikyo [say ‘Miyagi’ (as in Mr, of Karate Kid fame) ‘kyo’ (meaning valley, like all those ‘Glen-‘ distilleries in Scotland] with its lighter spirit, founded in 1969, unpeated, sweet and gently spicy.
Two open, twenty-two left to go!
Tasting Note for Yoichi Non Age:
Nose: Citrus-flavoured boiled sweets, gooseberry, fresh baking aromas from brown bread and vanilla spice.
Palate: Sweet entry, fragrant, perfumed citrus. Peat comes through with a touch of smoke and a suggestion of coastal character, surrounded by orange peel and cherry.
Finish: Medium length, with a hint of salty breeze lasting, a hallmark of the distillery.
Tasting Note for Miyagikyo Non Age:
Nose: Fresh orchard fruits with some sultana and sandalwood as well as intense citrus and apple fizzy belt sweets. Apricot chunks from yoghurts, hints of oak-y, cinnamon-y spice.
Palate: Green apple skin, a little almond. Zesty lime and cracked black pepper, with a touch of young malt here and there.
Finish: Clean with light spices.
The Chaps at Master of Malt
George 
Eric Miller