Review #12: Nikka Single Malt Miyagikyo

Miyagikyo Single Malt is a range of single malt expressions from the Miyagikyo Distillery. Nikka's founder Masataka Taketsuru chose a valley in the Miyagi prefecture as the site for his second distillery, and started its operation in 1969. It is located near Sendai, the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, Tōhoku region, Japan. He aimed to make a complete contrast between the two distilleries, Miyagikyo and Yoichi, with different natural environments and production methods.

Masataka aimed to make his blend more complex by widening the variety of whiskies. In 1967 he was exploring the northern part of the main island to find another ideal site for his second distillery. He came across a beautiful foggy glen surrounded by mountains and at a junction of two clean rivers. Once he tried the water from one of the rivers, which is now the water source, he was so impressed and immediately decided to build a distillery there. The name of the river was Nikkawa river by coincidence.

The Miyagikyo Single Malt is a no-age-statement version that was initially released in 2016 as a permanent product that showcases the elegant style of Miyagikyo malts, when all age-statements were discontinued. This bottling has estery aromas generated by carefully selected yeast strains along with distinctive Sherry cask influence.

A few years ago my wife and I traveled to Colorado to go skiing. This was our first time traveling to another state to ski. Honestly it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be to travel with two sets of skis, boots and a bunch of clothing. But the airport is really well designed to handle the equipment.

During one one evening, we decided to visit a local bar before heading to dinner. As this was during the time I was really enjoying Japanese whiskey, the bartender recommended this Nikka for me to try. It quickly became a favorite of mine, and as soon as we got back home I ordered a bottle from a local shop.

Nose: After having it sit for a little bit while I wrote the above, I get a bunch of vanilla and fruity notes. It's a bit difficult to separate out what fruit, some of it pineapple, mango even. It has a sweetness on the nose but it's not over powering. It has a bit of a surprising bite on the nose with the 45% ABV.

Palate: The palate brings it a bit of smokey almost peaty notes along with the fruits and vanilla from above. Near the end you start to get a bit of wood, pine or oak notes amongst the smoke. There's even a bit of pepper, a little spicy notes too.

With the early hype of Japanese whiskeys and the insane prices some of them are now sold for, Nikka really shines for me at this price. It has all the characteristics of a good whiskey, especially a good Japanese whiskey, without the massive price attached to it.

If you haven't explored the world of Japanese whiskey yet, I would recommend adding this one to your list. It's an easy drinking whiskey that has a really good balance of fruits, spices and smoke that will have you go back in for more.