Nikka Coffey Grain Japanese Whisky
The Nikka Coffey Grain is neither a “Japanese Bourbon” nor a “Japanese Corn Whiskey”, rather its quite something else entirely (Stephanie Moreno, distiller.com). Although, this whisky has no age statement, the benchmark for this whisky is 8 to 12 years. This whisky is produced mainly from corn using one of Nikka’s continuous Coffey stills in the Miyagiko distillery.
About this whisky (TheWhiskeyExchange)
Region: Japan
Nose: Sweeter and fruity with oodles of sweet spice, mango, papaya, and orange peel.
Palate: Toffee popcorn, with heady citrus and tropical fruit. Quite a mouthful.
Finish: Not especially long lasting; rich oak and marmalade notes dominate.
About Grain whisky (Distiller.com)
Grain whiskies are the base for most blended whiskies throughout the world. Nikka has decided to use the column still (aka Coffey still) rather than the more modern continuous stills to retain more character to their final product. It is quite unusual, however, to bottle and sell this product instead of using it for blending. The grains used here are primarily corn with a splash of barley.
Using the two Coffey stills at the Miyagikyo distillery, which were imported from Scotland to Japan in 1963, Nikka have produced a number of single cask single grain whiskies from time to time over the years. This, however, is their larger release of wonderfully exotic single grain whisky.
About Nikka’s Miyagiko distillery (Moromi Magazine)
Masataka Taketsuru was always eager to make his blends more complex by exploring a large variety of whiskies. In 1967 he discovered in the northern part of Japan another ideal site for a second distillery of his own, where two rivers with pristine water collide to be the source of water for the distillery. The whiskies produced in this distillery include Miyagikyo Single Malt, Coffey Malt, Coffey Grain, Pure Malt Red, Pure Malt Black, Pure Malt White and All Malt
For more whisky recommendations check out our Glenfiddich Single Malt 18 year old, Glenfiddich Pure Malt Old Reserve 1990s as well as the Old Pulteney 15 year old and stay tuned for more posts from the great world of whiskies.