I’ve had the opportunity to taste hundreds of single casks, single malts, cask strength, blended malt, malt and grain, and other blended whiskies from Japan with the odd American whiskey or rye or Scotch in my mix, so I can keep my benchmarks straight and make accurate comparison at an international level.

For Nikka’s inaugural visit to the Hong Kong market, they held a whisky dinner at Zuma a few weeks back. They showed some of their favorites but kept most of their cards close to their chest. Their style, even at the lowland-style Miyagikyo distillery or blended malt Taketsuru series, comes across as masculine when compared to Suntory’s flagship whiskies.

A smoked whisky sour preceded the evening featuring the cask strength (clocking in at 51.4 percent a.b.v) Nikka From The Barrel. It was balanced enough with the viscosity of the higher strength whisky, texturally aligning with the added sugar syrup.

Yoichi’s whiskies always have a beautiful charcoal undertone from their “no age statement” all the way to their single cask releases. The problem with their 15-year-old whiskey is that the 12-year-old is so expressive and displays so much maturity that you almost don’t stop at the 15 on your way to the 20-year-old. The Miyagikyo 12-year-old and award-winning Taketsuru 17-year-old were solid showings as well.

Nikka has just released their (almost) single grain Nikka Coffey Grain to the Hong Kong market, a little late behind the American and European markets; they have definitely proven to be successful with this whisky and it was well-received by the guests at the dinner. In fact, this grain spirit was so pure that it was really a treat to finally have it in Hong Kong!

All in all, a solid introduction for Nikka into the Hong Kong market and I look forward to their next visit. This tasting report covers all whiskies tasted at the dinner, and all drams were tasted neat.

Yoichi 15-Year-Old Single Malt

Nikka Yoichi Distillery, Hokkaido

Score: 94

The Yoichi 15-year-old packs the trademark charcoal punch that is maybe due to the fact that Yoichi is one of the last distilleries on earth to use direct heat from a charcoal flame to fire their pot stills. Grassy and fresh, there is a fine transition from the fresher characteristics to more tobacco and from fresh tree fruit to more dried stone fruit. The only downside is a slightly shorter finish than you’d expect. It is a fine step on the way to the 20-year-old but almost unnecessary because the 12 is also an outstanding whisky.

Miyagikyo 12-Year-Old Single Malt

Nikka Miyagikyo Distillery, Miyagi

Score: 95

This reminds me of a Caramilk chocolate bar – lots of lovely toffee and coffee notes but also complex with gentle hits of coriander throughout. Miyagikyo’s whiskies are extremely underrated.

Taketsuru 17-Year-Old Blended Malt

Nikka Miyagikyo and Yoichi Distilleries, Japan

Score: 97

The 2014 World Whisky Award winner for best blended malt doesn’t fail to disappoint. It’s really an art to balance the more powerful and savory character of Nikka’s Yoichi distillery in Hokkaido with the gentler, more voluptuous character of the Miyagikyo whiskies in Miyagi in the northeast of Honshu. The result is mingling notes of whisky’s essentials: smoky and earthy peat, sweet and savory malt, the smooth and textured influence of maturation in different casks, ranging from sherry cask to Japanese white oak; this is a complete and balanced blend of single malts.

Taketsuru 21-Year-Old Blended Malt

Nikka Miyagikyo and Yoichi Distilleries, Japan

Score: 95

It’s only slightly disheartening to taste the Taketsuru 21; it’s certainly not awful and I’m not upset to drink it. Taketsuru 21 features notes of barley miso, candied ginger and fino sherry. The influence of the barrel on the current blend is just slightly off the track – there is a gripping character that cuts off the experience of the chocolate coffee bean note on the palate only slightly too early.

Nikka Coffey Grain NAS Grain

Nikka Miyagikyo Distillery, Miyagi

Score: 98

This is breakfast whisky. It smells like eggnog and tastes like spiced rum and Boston creme doughnuts. The Coffey grain is made from almost 100 percent corn grain and does see some time in Mizunara (Japanese oak) which brings additional spikes of coconut and chamomile. The whisky is not extremely complex but it is full of flavor, balanced and extremely drinkable. The one disclaimer from this beautiful whisky is that is very different from a malt whisky – there is a whole layer of the whisky process missing which does take away from many layers of nuance that would normally be present. That being said, grain spirits are back in a big way and this is a paramount example.

Elliot Faber is the beverage director of two cool Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong – Yardbird and Ronin – as well as Sunday’s Grocery. He is also one of the world’s experts on sake, Japanese whisky, shochu, awamori and Japanese beer.

Elliot's Article: Nikka Whisky Tasting