Review #125: Nikka Whisky "Yoichi" Single Malt 10yr, 45% abv, OB

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Taking a break from pre-Thanksgiving housecleaning to get my senses back. This is a young-ish malt from Yoichi, Nikka's original distillery. According to Nikka, "Yoichi produces rich, peaty and masculine malt," maybe because they direct-fire their stills. I'm not sure how I feel about masculine malt; it might be slightly threatening.

This post is really helpful in case you, like me, have trouble keeping track of Japanese malts even though there's only about 5 distilleries and 8 or so labels. On another occasion I'll have to find another one that explains the difference between the various Nikka pure malts.

hmm. has a lot of color for a 10-yr-old.

nose: apples and lots of dried fruit, with peat in the background. it's way more fruit-forward than I expected, but also winter squash, honey-roasted nuts, almond paste, and tiny notes of something tropical and floral. the peat starts out as just little bits of soot, but then slowly opens out to become woodier and richer. (I'd say "bacon-ier," if that were a word.)

palate: a little thin on the palate, although the peat really takes a bite here. a light wave of fruit followed by a mouthful of soot. A little salty. Some tropical woods.

finish: honey and dark smoky peat linger.

(temporarily empty glass smells like roast beast smoked over fruitwood. and vanilla candy.)

The nose was absolute genius: it felt assembled out of parts, on one hand, but just fit together seamlessly. Develops very nicely, too. The palate didn't quite live up to that, but this is still surprisingly good whisky.


score: 87