![]() ![]() I’m a sucker for a repeat pour of this one. The peppery spices continue to ramp up until they just fizzle away, but they manage to leave a strawberry, vanilla and cherry sweetness and almost ice cream-like texture that just invites another sip.Ī really enjoyable sipping whisky. It starts with the same set of spices from the nose but they just get dialled up to a fiery white pepper and hot cinnamon spice. Whilst it is not overly malty there is a decent barley sugar flavour to it too but these flavours are then all quickly burned out by the alcohol heat which just picks up and up. The sweetness hits the lips first and that list of fruits from the nose start to appear again joined by a vanilla pod sweetness and creaminess. There’s a whole host of mellow and warming spices here too. I guess a combination of those flavours and the power of suggestion would make for a Japanese cherry blossom scent. There’s light fruity sweetness in there with strawberries, peaches, pineapples, cherries and oranges and a sweet floral note that reminds me of honeysuckle. But, when you go in after a chance to breathe, there’s a nice wave of oaky smells: both the wood flavours and the spices. Oooh it’s coming in hot with lots of alcohol vapours from the 51.4% shooting straight up the nostrils – very boozy and a little acetone note. ![]() Nikka states that the whiskies are aged for 10 or so years, then blended and married in a variety of different cask types (including ex-bourbon barrels, ex-sherry butts, and refilled, recharred and remade hogsheads) for 3-6 months and are then bottled at the “From The Barrel” strength of 51.4% ABV. On paper Nikka Whisky From The Barrel is a blend containing 40% single malt whiskies from the Miyagikyo and Yoichi distilleries and 60% Coffey grain spirit from their various stills. ![]() With that in mind, I thought I’d revisit the little cuboid bottle in the back of my whisky cabinet and generously sample this naughty little number. Whilst the new regs don’t come into effect for another 3 years, Nikka have already made a statement and have updated their website setting out which of their spirits will no longer be classed as “Japanese Whisky” and that includes their flagship blend Nikka Whisky From The Barrel – though the exact reasons why have not been officially communicated. The regulations will apply to those entities that have signed up to the association and that includes Japanese Whisky’s biggest names in Suntory and Nikka. ‘Japanese Whisky’ Requirements from the Japan Spirits & Liqueurs Makers Association The rules look at the provenance of the spirits, how they are distilled, how they are matured and how they are bottled. The premise is similar to the rules that protect what can be labelled as “scotch whisky” under European legislation and practices by the Scotch Whisky Association. The new regulations set out to put tighter restrictions around which spirits can call themselves Japanese whisky. Well, in February 2021, a new set of rules were issued by the Japan Spirits & Liqueurs Makers Association. Yep, you read that right: the world-renowned whisky from Japan will no longer be called Japanese Whisky. A couple of weeks ago, Nikka Whisky From The Barrel – one of the world’s best selling Japanese whiskies – lost its ability to actually call itself a “Japanese Whisky”.
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