So in an Advent of perpetual firsts I am again confronted with a whisky I have never tried before and am beginning to feel that all of you out there will begin to completely disregard all that I say as the words of some deluded up-start amateur.In all honesty I feel a bit remiss for not having tried this yet and has been on my to-drink-list for a while now. This is touted as one of the best value whiskies going and one to try for those un-initiated to Japanese whisky. For a blended whiskey the fact that this is bottled at 51.4% and available for £31.54 is astounding (50cl bottle) and I hope that this stands up well as it sounds very very enticing.
On the nose this is quite big with deep and earthy spices with caramel, a prominent floral note, vanilla, oak, coconut and sweet fruit. The nose is nice and big with plenty of body, however without some of the depth you might want, but at this stage who's to quibble as everything that is present is very decent and of good quality.
On the palate this is sweet and smooth starting with the caramel and dark sugar. This has great mouthfeel being very oily and mouthfilling, really viscous. This does really need water though as at this percentage whilst you can't at first feel the alcohol it does start to come to the fore. With water this mellows out more becoming sweeter, but retaining the wonderful body. There are dried fruits, sweet fruit, oak, vanilla, a touch of the grain spirit and orange peel. The finish is really good on this as well lasting very well.
Overall I think that this is a great whiskey, punches far above most blends and good competition for many single malts easily available at the price point. This is a real revelation to me and one that I shall be buying a full bottle of (the bottle is really interesting and cool btw) so if you come over you might be able to Nikka dram lolz.
Nikka Whisky From The Barrel is available from Master of Malt for £31.54
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