Nikka “The Grain” Whisky is part of Nikka’s Discovery Series, being the 2023 edition in this experimental range. We’ll look at this in more detail in just a moment, but first some commentary on Japanese whisky wouldn’t go astray. As a category of spirit, Japanese whisky has had to ride many waves in the last decade. Prior to the 2010’s, it was (relatively) widely available; it was relatively affordable, and – like every other category of whisky – it would occasionally delight with something spectacular that made whisky drinkers take notice. Founded in 1934, Nikka has always been at the heart of Japanese whisky, but things took a quantum leap for the category in the 2010’s when a series of plaudits and accolades all came at once. Numerous Japanese whisky brands and bottlings won major awards in rapid succession, consistently outpunching and outscoring their more fancied and better-known Scottish competitors.
Examples? Hibiki 21yo won World’s Best Blended Whisky at the World Whiskies Awards in 2010, 2011, and 2013. Yamazaki 25yo won World’s Best Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards in 2012. Nikka’s Taketsuru 17yo Pure Malt won World’s Best Blended Malt in 2014 at the World Whiskies Awards. The Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2013 won Whisky of the Year in Jim Murray’s 2015 Whisky Bible. Nikka’s Single Malt Yoichi won Whisky of the Year in Whisky Advocate magazine in 2016. Suddenly, in the space of just a few short years, Japanese whisky went from being a curiosity amongst enthusiasts to something everyone wanted to get their hands on.
The result was a massive tipping of the scales in the supply and demand relationship. Japanese whisky became a victim of its own success. It would soon emerge that the distilleries did not ramp up production when these accolades first started coming in, and this came home to roost by the end of the decade when there simply wasn’t enough to go around. Prices skyrocketed accordingly in response to the scarcity, and Japanese whisky – certainly in the single malt stakes – became a rare and expensive choice.
With the preceding paragraphs as background, it is fascinating to see how Nikka, as a company, rode the waves, and how the new Nikka The Grain Whisky blend (reviewed below) fits into the narrative. Nikka’s origin story is inspiring reading. Masataka Taketsuru left Japan in 1918 and spent two years in Scotland studying chemistry at Glasgow University, while also working as an apprentice at three Scotch whisky distilleries. He returned to Japan in 1920, and in 1923 he was hired by the company we now know as Suntory to build the Yamazaki distillery, where he subsequently oversaw production. He parted company with Suntory a decade later, and founded Nikka in 1934, establishing the Yoichi distillery. His first spirit, marketed as Nikka Whisky was launched in 1940.
Nikka would go on to establish another malt distillery, Miyagikyo, in 1969. Miyagikyo’s spirit was, by design, completely different to Yoichi. Different-shaped stills; indirect steam heating (as opposed to coal-fired direct heating at Yoichi); slower distillation; and other production tweaks mean Miyagikyo’s spirit is generally lighter, more floral, and fruitier than its stablemate.
Of course, blended whisky needs both malt and grain spirit. Nikka adapted its Nishinomiya bottling plant into a grain distillery in 1963 when it installed a Coffey column still which they shipped in from Scotland. A second column was imported in 1966. The two Coffey stills were transferred to Miyagikyo in 1999, and are responsible for Nikka’s much-respected Nikka Coffey Grain and Nikka Coffey Malt whiskies. Nikka’s parent company, Asahi, acquired both the Moji and Satsuma Tsukasa distilleries in 2002, both being long-established shochu distilleries. Nikka further utilised these plants for the production of grain whisky in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
Outside of Japan, Nikka acquired the Ben Nevis distillery in Scotland in 1989, making it the second Scottish malt distillery to be wholly owned by a Japanese company. (Tomatin was acquired by a Japanese joint venture in 1986; Suntory took full ownership of Morrison Bowmore Distillers in 1994, thus acquiring the Bowmore, Auchentoshan, and Glen Garioch distilleries). Up until 2021, a little-known quirk of Japanese whisky was that it didn’t actually have to be made in Japan! The five aforementioned Scotch distilleries all produced bulk spirit that was exported to Japan and subsequently widely used in Japanese blends. In the international craze and demand for Japanese whisky by the late 2010’s, plenty of whisky consumers purchased what they believed to be Japanese whisky, perhaps not appreciating that a portion of what was in the bottle actually came from Scotland. Faced with growing pressure from consumers and other drinks industry bodies, corners of the Japanese industry sought to address this awkward situation in 2021 when the Japan Spirits & Liqueurs Makers Association (of which Nikka is a member) established the Standards for Labelling Japanese Whisky. This standard better clarifies now what constitutes Japanese whisky, although it’s worth noting that (i) it is a standard agreed to by members of the JS&LMA but not actually a law per se, and (ii) not every Japanese brand or producer is a member of the JS&LMA, and thus is not bound to it. The industry still has a long way to go to match the enforceable integrity of The Scotch Whisky Association, however, Nikka is to be commended for being one of the more transparent Japanese whisky companies. Nikka’s website makes it clear which of their many products and blends meet the labelling standards for Japanese whisky and which ones do not.
Which all brings us to this pictured bottle of Nikka “The Grain” Whisky….
Nikka The Grain Whisky is part of Nikka’s Discovery Series. The Discovery Series seeks to explore various aspects of the whisky making process, experimenting with tweaks to whisky’s three core ingredients (barley, yeast, and water) to create different flavours. The 2021 Discovery played around with peat; the 2022 Discovery tried different yeasts, and the 2023 Discovery plays around with different grains. It is a blend of seven different whiskies from four of Nikka’s grain distilleries, namely:
- Coffey Grain whisky (corn) distilled in the 2010’s at Miyagikyo
- Coffey Malt whisky distilled in the 2010’s at Miyagikyo
- Coffey Grain whisky (corn) distilled in 1988 at Nishinomiya
- Coffey Malt whisky distilled in 1988 at Nishinomiya
- Unmalted barley whisky distilled in a stainless steel pot still in 2017 at Moji
- Unmalted barley whisky distilled in a stainless steel pot still in 2018 at Satsuma Tsukasa
- Corn, rye, and barley whisky distilled in a stainless steel pot still in 2019 at Satsuma Tsukasa
The various spirits were all matured in American oak, chiefly being refill hogsheads, but also re-charred hogsheads and new barrels. At least two of those lines above should have grabbed your attention – yes, this blend has whisky in it that is at least 34 years old.
Whisky & Wisdom sat down with a bottle and we spent time acquainting ourselves with the spirit. Our thoughts as follows:
Nikka “The Grain” Whisky (Discovery Series, 2023), 48% ABV
Nose: The initial nosing is strong with esters – a basket of fruit; some floral notes; and a hint of cereal. The nose gets sweeter with each return to the glass. It’s actually the sweetness that gives away there are other cereals in this blend…there’s just a hint of the corn and rye whiskies present and, in this respect, it’s not a million miles away from the Archie Rose Double Malt, which similarly excelled in this pursuit. Returning to the nose after sipping it, it seems more biscuity.
Palate: The mouthfeel is thick and viscous…creamy might also be an apt descriptor. Vanilla/caramel flavours lay a rich foundation. The blend is very well integrated – no obvious spikes or domineering flavours out of place. With time, some orange citrus emerges, together with nutmeg sprinkled on porridge. Not sure what proportion of the blend is carried by the older spirit from Nishinomiya, but this in no way tastes young – there’s just the right amount of oak and development onboard, contributing hints of dark chocolate.
Finish: As the finish recedes, there’s a pleasing footprint of crème brulee – specifically, the brulee.
Comments: As a grain whisky, this is a fun ride and something reasonably unique in its flavor profile. No, it’s not malt, but it’s far more developed and multi-dimensional than many of the other grain whiskies that often pop up. The use of corn and rye spirit takes the dram left of centre, and if you’re a fan of any of the many wonderful mixed-grain whiskies coming out of the north-west quadrant of the USA right now, this will certainly resonate with you. Importantly, can the dram stand on its own two feet and be enjoyed neat, or is it a blend that’s more suited as a mixer? It’s definitely the former – it’s a perfectly good sipping whisky on its own.
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Nikka The Grain Whisky is out now in Australia, primarily through Vintage Cellars, with an RRP of $270.
Cheers,
AD
PS…keen to read more about Japanese whisky? You might like our feature piece on the Kanosuke Distillery here.
