The Nikka 12 Year Old

Utterly uninspiring. Super smooth, but absolutely no “body” or complexity. Fresh green apple flavours, with a short, sweet finish.

For this price, I would expect something MUCH more interesting. Wouldn’t dream of buying this ever again. Shame because I love the Nikka distillery in general.

12th September 2019

Delivers on what it should. Good fun.

20th July 2019

A surprise, since it came to my hands as a gift of 50 years, straight from Japan!

9th December 2018

It's a really nice blend. I love every dram. Quite mellow, but not one dimensional. £95 worth? I don't know. To me, I can't find a characteristic to it's profile that makes it recognisable by taste. Maybe I haven't tried enough Nikka. I love all the Japanese whisks I've tried but it seems the price of them is increasing every time I buy a new bottle.

Looking on here, it seems like a good whisk for the price in relation to other Japanese offerings. Even with the inflated cost, I'd personally hunt down another a bottle the Yamazaki 12y. But at ~£100 a bottle, what great scotchs could you get for that...?

Hard to rate whisky so simply, but 4/5 in flavour in relation to sub £100 whiskys I've tried. Dock another point because you can find equally great offerings for £50-70, making this a very expensive choice.

16th October 2018

This is a really good blended whiskey.
It has all that I love about whisky, complexity and richness.
Just love it so sad that it almost empty

21st September 2018

It's rare to find Japanese malt with an age statement these days. This Nikka blend does not seem to have much grain in it. I have been repeatedly tasting it along with the now extremely rare age statement Takeshiro single malts, both the 12 and the 17. The Nikka 12 is actually rather close to the Taketsuru 17 but is a tad more spirity. The Taketsuru 12 is the smoothest of the three but the Nikka 12 is a great buy.

20th September 2018

Full bodied, pleasant oak, rich, fruity (Apple), cream, vanilla and caramel with a touch of peat which gives it a salty/savory flavor. Flavor profile is quite similar to Highland Park 12 but richer in flavor and taste. Amazing for a blended whisky to be as rich and flavorful as a single malt Scotch. Easily blows away any blended scotch at 12 years old. Its even way better than Dewars 15 which is watery, spirity and lacks flavor and complexity. Had this for less than 5000 yen and absolutely worth it for that price. Too bad this whisky is overpriced outside of Japan.

28th January 2018

It’s a well rounded blend. Smooth, tasty and very drinkable. Would not buy again but once was definitely worth it.

20th January 2018

Really!? What are they up to? I don't drink blended whisky (occasional exception for the Chivas Regal 18 yr old). Oscar (great guy, runs my favourite liquor store, insists on sharing his "enthusiasm" even at 10 a.m.) twisted my arm with a free sample. Bought a bottle straight off. There's a big dash of Yoichi in here so there is a nice, warming hint of peat. Not so much peat that it blots out the delightful tropical fruit though. Toasty, oaky, warm and creamy, butterscotch toffee and smooooooooooth. Honestly, if you didn't know, you'd never guess it was a blended whisky. This is a new permanent fixture in my collection.

19th December 2017

Big Japanese whisky fan & this fits the mound. Tinges of apple on the nose, but forgetting the pomp, this tastes amazing. Great stuff, shall be getting a bottle.

1st December 2016