Nose: Typical of many Nikka blends with not a lot of grain influence. Mixed peel, mandarins, malt, oak, apricots, grapefruit, woodstain.
Palate: Maple syrup, mandarins, bubblegum, malt, honey, nuts, sweet spices, oak. Slightly oily.
Finish: Tangy spices, mandarins, bubblegum, nuts and some drying wood.
Last Word: Not quite up to previous batches I’ve tried before including this 2009 version, which was spicier and felt like a bigger whisky overall.
Rating: 86/100
*Update 11/1/2012. Enjoying the last(large dram) of this bottle and the big spices seem to be concentrating at last. That’s more like it.
Thanx Brian, I hope to pick up some of this next month when in Alberta. Have read many good things about it and this blend seems like a good place to start a Japanese whisky journey.
How do I differentiate the 2009 version of Nikka From the Barrel from the 2012 version? I can’t seem to tell from the bottle labels in the posted pics. Are the codes at the bottom of the label a clue?
Wee Robbie
Hi Wee Robbie,
The only difference you will notice is the batch number down the bottom of the right hand corner of the label. Nothing else has changed about the presentation since I started drinking this stuff. I couldn’t say how many different batches they bottle in a year but I reckon it would be quite a few. In the end the last couple of drams of the 2012 impressed me the most, seemed to regain some of the measured punch.
Brian