After swimming in a sea of delicious single malts from the Islay region of Scotland the other day, I was a little unsure of how I might react to sipping and tasting a blended Japanese whisky this evening.

Nikka's "Nikka Whisky from the Barrel" is some fine stuff, don't get me wrong, but I still had my doubts.

After a satisfying round of nosing the glass, and a good, solid swish and gulp, those hesitations are laid to rest. This expression from the Nikka distilleries merits a 3.7 / 5 stars and is an impressive, refined, and powerful little Japanese malts behemoth.

Let's dig in.

The nose.

Solvent. Paint thinner. Caramel. Raspberries. Almost no remarkable smoky expression.

The body.

Full bodied and lovely. A cask-strength expression of cloves, licorice, raspberries, and walnuts. The sweetness is offset by the boozy punch and the slight malts and smoke making themselves known at the back of the palette.

The finish.

Delicious and malty. Just a hint of smoke. Sugar. Something like licorice and grass. Delightful.

RATING: 3.7 / 5 Stars.

I highly recommend this bottle and am impressed once again by the high quality of fine Japanese whiskies. Buy yourself one of the sturdy little cubic bottles and drink up, Steemians!

~KafkA

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Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, creator, and peaceful parent residing in Niigata City, Japan. Graham runs the "Voluntary Japan" online initiative with a presence here on Steem, as well as Facebook and Twitter. Hit me up so I can stop talking about myself in the third person!