Nikka Whisky From The Barrel was first launched in 1985 and has been stealing hearts ever since. Built from a marriage of malt and grain whiskies, largely drawn from Nikka’s Yoichi and Miyagikyo distilleries, it is bottled at a forthright 51.4% ABV because anything less would miss the point. The compact, rectangular bottle reflects its concept, "a small block of whisky", but this rich, oily expression has always punched above its size.
This product does not meet all the criteria of "Japanese whisky" defined by the Japan Spirits & Liqueur Makers Association. You can read more on our blog.
Medium-body with good balance. There are notes of cut flowers and fresh fruits, spice, and a little oak.
Full-bodied and punchy. There is plenty of winter spice and toffee, a little caramel and vanilla, and a good mouthful of fruit.
Long, warming and fruity with a little oaken spice.
All I can say is that this is absolutely delicious ! I've tried a LOT of whiskies from a lot of countries and this is simply stunning !
And now I know for sure why many rave about this. It really is fantastic. Last night I was taking those prefect hummingbird sized drop-sips, and I really experienced the texture and amazing flavor of this whisky. I have yet to try with a drop of water, but I don't know how soon I will, because it is fantastic neat,.and a prefect slow sipper. Again, maybe bc of strength, but I find the buzz from this unique and very desirable. Now I'm trying to figure out how I might b able to get more than the 4 I already have into my suitcase along with: yoichi and miyagikyo no age statements, nikka 12 year pure malt, yamazaki 10 yr single malt, Yoichi 10 , and Miyagikyo 10.
best of the best
scared at first when I nosed one of the bottles i bought here in Japan, because it is strronng. But now when I open the bottle for a sniff, wow, very much bourbon like sweetness, can't wait to experiment with small drops of water with small servings of this whisky to see what that does. But I generally like to drink neat, and so I do here. The nose can be so wonderful and I detect lovely favors on the tongue with a fiery sensation on the way down. But at over 50% that is to be expected.. all I know so far is that I like this whisky more and more with each try. And the buzz is very very nice.. Does anyone from m.o.m. or anywhere else know if it is true that this and other tasty whiskies really have color added? I don't even know if that has a bad connotation to it; and even tho the majority of reviews online have people saying they love this whisky (and many say it is one of the best bargain quality whiskies in the world), one guy didn't have nice things to say and added that this was another dram with color added. Anyone privy?
Bought this as a bit of a conversation piece but boy was I happy I had. Love this stuff. Simply great. Will need more soon.
