I felt I was halfway done when I picked the Nikka Miyagikyo Single Malt to take a first peek into Japanese whisky. That’s because the Miyagikyo is always mentioned together with its peated sibling. A sibling that arguably has a more rooted standing in the history of Japanese whisky. So, to make up for that, today I am planning to review the Nikka Yoichi Single Malt
TL:DR: A clean, sweet and gentle take on peat
Score*: 6, good stuff
The Yoichi distillery
The Yoichi Distillery was established in 1934 by Masataka Taketsuru, and started distilling in 1936. It is the birthplace of Nikka Whisky and a key location in Japanese whisky history. The history of Taketsuru and his Scottish wife Rita is a fascinating one and one that would deserve a separate post (but is nicely summarised by Nikka on their website.)
Taketseru trained in Scotland, and he chose Yoichi on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido for its cool climate, coastal air, and abundant natural resources—conditions which reminded him of Scotland. Yoichi was built to emulate traditional Scotch methods. One of these, still operational today, is the decision to use coal-fired pot stills, making it one of the last in the world to do so. From its origin, Yoichi distillery focused on producing a robust, smoky style of whisky. At least when compared to more delicate profiles typically associated with Japanese whisky. Maybe not that smoky compared to today’s peat bombs, but that does raise a question…
Yoichi’s style and 30s Scottish whisky
There is a case for Yoichi to be closer to the taste of Scottish whisky in the 30s than most of today’s brands. While some changes in style are to be expected from its birth in 1934, the distillery is known for adhering to the style set forward by its founder,
Taketseru intended to produce a whisky closer to the style he was exposed to in Scotland. We know he worked at Longmorn in Speyside, Bo’ness in the Lowlands (a grain distillery) and Hazelburn in Campbeltown, and he almost certainly sampled the wares of several other distilleries. He aimed to produce a robust smoky style to replicate what he had experienced in Scotland. Does that mean that the lightly peated robust style that we see today in Yoichi was the common one in Scotland back in the 30s? We cannot know for sure, but there is a good chance that it was, at least in part.
Well, let’s not wait any longer nad dive into this review of the Nikka Yoichi Single Malt and taste what Scottish whisky maybe tasted like 90 years back.
Nikka Yoichi Single Malt
Specs
Price paid: € 59.90 (on special offer)
Lot: 6/140281517
ABV: 45%
Natural colour: No
Non-chill filtered: No
Casks Used: Not stated but widely reported to be a mic of ex-Bourbon, ex-Sherry, re-charred and new American oak.
Tasting Notes
Colour: It’s caramel coloured, so it doesn’t really matter. But for the sake of consistency, it is a rich golden colour. If whisky had a Pantone to which all homogenised high volume whiskyies aspire to, this would be it.
Nose: Fruity and floral with a bit of smokiness and spice. There are notes of ripe apples, pears and bananas, vanilla, white flowers, some sooty smoke, light salted caramel (and a lot of it), some ginger and cinnamon spice, a little lemon rind and a background note of freshly planed oak.
Taste: Decent texture for the ABV, rich, almost oily. Sweet, spicy and fruity, with some noticeable char notes. Spiced baked apples: the ones stuffed with raisins, brown sugar, and a dusting of nutmeg and ginger powder. There are quite noticeable barley notes, chaff and malted biscuits.
The finish is medium, slightly astringent, carrying the flavour of barley, golden syrup, lemon rind and ripe apples. The smoke is a hint, far away in the distance
Score*: 6, Good Stuff
I have to admit I initially felt slightly disappointed by the Yoichi. In great part due to the expectations I had for the level of peat. But judging something because your expectation is wrong is where madness lies. (Something some keyboard warriors who are bent on panning stuff because it is not what they expected, should reflect upon).
Instead, I recalibrated my expectations on the peat and tried to review this Nikka Yoichi Single Malt on its own merit. And that makes me appreciate the mild smoke a lot more as well as the clean aromas and flavours. What I am less enamoured by is the decidedly sweet character, which I find slightly cloying. I know this is a personal gripe of mine, so if you love sweeter whiskies, this might be more your cup of tea. Having said all that, it is a good, solid whisky which I am happy to sip… at least when it comes to the liquid in the bottle
The biggest critique I have is the same I already mentioned in my Miyagikyo review: price. I grabbed both bottles on a special offer, paying just under €60. But the normal retail price is between 70 and 80€, a price at which you can grab many more interesting bottles. And at that price, sorry Japan, I am heading elsewhere.
* Scores are based on the scoring scale used by Dramface, slightly modified to allow half-points
Interested in my take on a specific whisky style? Check the full Journey here and jump to the relevant Chapter.
After writing my tasting notes, I always find it interesting to look at other opinions. Here are a review or two of the Nikka Yoichi Single Malt I enjoyed:
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