NIKKA TAKETSURU 17 YEAR OLD - 43%
NIKKA TAKETSURU 21 YEAR OLD - 43%
Well, right now I am supposed to be in Park City, Utah - at the Sundance Film Festival. Seeing films. Partying with celebrities. Freezing my ass off. However, my flight was cancelled (at the last minute) and it was impossible to fly out until tomorrow morning, a serious problem both on a personal and professional level. I am seriously pissed. So what to do in the meantime? Well, drink whisky and write about it, of course - what else?!?
Masataka Taketsuru is perhaps the key figure in the history of Japanese whisky, having learned the art of distilling in Scotland, and then bringing that knowledge back to Japan as master distiller for Yamazaki. After he left Yamazaki, he founded Nikka - and this range of blended malts is named after him.
On the bottle, the spirit is referred to as “Pure Malt”, a term that is illegal to use for Scotch distilleries, who must refer to it as “blended malt” - that is, the blending of malts from two or more distilleries (note the term “blend” is not the same as “blended malt”, as blends - Johnnie Walker, Grant’s, etc. - are a combination of malt and grain whiskies, whereas blended malts have no grain whiskies in them at all. Confused yet?) Taketsuru whiskies come from the two distilleries owned by Nikka: Yoichi (a heavier, oilier style) and Miyagikyo (lighter and fruitier). It does not use malts from competitor Suntory (nor vice versa).
Our vertical tasting today compares the 17 Year Old and the 21 Year Old. There is also a very good 12 Year Old, not written about here (but which is available at the LCBO - sadly, the older expressions are not. But you can also get the single malts Yoichi 10 Year Old and Miyagikyo 15 Year Old through the LCBO).
The colour of the 17 Year Old is medium-to-dark amber, with bright yellow highlights. When you nose it, right off the bat it is very fruity, across a wide range: apricots, plums, dates, blueberries, papaya. Lots of malt. Milk chocolate. Dunnage warehouse with damp floor. Some oak and leather, a little honey and the faintest hint of smoke. With a drop of water, more malt and a little more smoke. Rich, fruity, malty and delicious.
Saltier on the palate than you would expect. Very creamy mouthfeel, and yet you get bitter tea. Very oaky as well, more than you would think from a 17 year old. And lots of malt as well, with tons of honey. Peat is a little more prevalent here, but it is not coming at you in waves of smoke. With water, the heat turns up with some cinnamon and, believe it or not, now the smoke comes! Incredibly complex, layered, ever-evolving in the mouth.
We have a deep oaky finish, pencil shavings, lots of spice and blood orange. This is such a gorgeous whisky - the epitome of malt and wood in all its essence. Not a singular malt style but rather, showcasing the complexities prevalent when the distilled spirit combines with oak. Absolutely wonderful. This won the World’s Best Blended Malt Award at the 2012 World Whiskies Awards.
How does the four more years in wood compare? Well, in the glass, we see dark amber with yellow highlights - only slightly darker than the 17. On the nose we get purely dark fruits right away - dates and raisins, as if pulled right out of a fruitcake. Cocoa. Pure malt underneath the rich oak. Herbal as well with mint and a wee bit of smoke. Again, dunnage warehouse with damp floor. Water tames all those dark fruits and brings out the malt, herbs and smoke.
Saltier than you would expect in the mouth, and with some peat. It then becomes hotter in the mouth and with more herbs like oregano and sage. Wow. Of course, very malty with a honeyed sweetness. A drop of water really spices it up, similar to the 17 year old.
We get more herbal notes on the finish, which is mouth-drying with some brine. Long and deep with lots of oak. This is a huge whisky, very much for after dinner by the fire. Like the 17 year old, this showcases the incredible range of flavours malt whisky can bring, but this one does so under a heavier layer of dark fruits and oak (if you can imagine heavier than the 17 year old). This whisky has won numerous awards, including World’s Best Blended Malt at the World Whiskies Awards three out of four years running.
So how do they compare? Well, to be honest, one seems to have simply aged in oak for another four years (rather than being distilled or aged in a different way). I know the 21 Year Old is finished in first- and second-fill bourbon barrels, and I presume from the taste profile that the 17 Year Old is as well. But these are both absolutely fantastic - rich and fruity, full of oak and malt, sweetness and spice. Do I have a favourite? Well, after spending a good chunk of the afternoon with both of these, I’m giving a slight edge to the 17. In the 21, you have such a richness of oak and dark fruits, it slightly (only slightly) obscures the other qualities that come through from the spirit. In the 17, there is a bit more balance between the spirit and the wood, and hence a further complexity is revealed. But don’t take my word for it - if you ever get the opportunity to enjoy either of these (or the 12 Year Old, which doesn’t quite reach the heights of these two but is very enjoyable), take it. These two are among the best whiskies you will ever have. And now I feel much better about my wasted hours at the airport this morning. Tomorrow is another day.
No comments:
Post a Comment