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.
Tag: Suntory
The Great Whisky Rumble
Back in 2003, I hosted and presented my first “Whiskies of the World” tasting. It was an educational affair; an introduction into the different whiskies being made around the world; and an opportunity to taste the different styles and flavours on offer. More importantly, it was an opportunity for punters to learn how and why, for example, bourbon tasted different to Irish whiskey, and why Scotch and Japanese whiskies were reasonably similar. And I threw in a Canadian whisky and a Tennessee whiskey for good measure. (Don’t ask “What about an Australian whisky?” Lark’s whiskies were scarce, and Bakery Hill had only just launched its first ever release that same year).