Nikka Coffey Malt 11 Years Old 2001 G12.1 Oh so sweet (58.9%, SMWS, Re-charred HH, 246 Bottles, 2014)

• Category: Japanese grain whisky
• Origin: Nikka’s Coffey stills (Miyagikyo Distillery)
• Bottling: Scotch Malt Whisky Society Cask G12.1
• ABV: 58.9%
• Cost: £229 for pairing of SMWS G12.1 and 120.7 buy from SMWS
• Score: 88/100

What they say:

Aromas of apple purée and coconut milk soon revealed a fresh oak backbone and vanilla pods in a sugar bowl.  Subtle rancio and musky notes floated along while the sugar became more rich, dark and heady.  The taste was very sweet with powerful vanilla and banana, moving to a chalky and slightly drying finish.  Water saw apple turnovers dusted with icing sugar as a curious coconut and peach smoothie was whizzed up in the background.  Wonderful oakiness (“wrung out staves”), banana chips, Campinos, cloves and banana toffee brought this rollercoaster of sweetness home.

Date Distilled:  6 March 2003   Colour:  Autumn gold
Age:  11 years   Cask Type:  Re-charred hogshead
Whisky Region: Japan   Alc %:  58.9
Drinking Tip: Best enjoyed neat in place of dessert
Flavour Profile: Juicy, oak and vanilla

What I say:

Thanks to Ben at Ben’s Whisky Blog for organising a share of this duo of Japanese whiskies from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. The first is a new Grain distillery bottled by the society of Nikka’s Coffey Malt (SMWS Code #G12)

Colour:

Amber gold (9/20), fine tears and light legs

Nose:

Foam banana and pear drop sweeties, perfumed, icing sugar sweetness, vanilla, cereal grain barley, white wine vinegar, fruity, pear wine, peach, apricot, some spices cinnamon perhaps, coconut, custard, crème brulee.

Taste:

Cereal barley, spiced white pepper, rich vanilla custard, fruity apricot puree, effervescent, peach and sparkling white wine, honey, poached apples with cinnamon and nutmeg, bubblegum, with the addition of water the spice and bubblegum characters subside and more toffee can be found.

Finish:

Short-medium, cereal and fruity, quite sweet.

Overall:

Pretty delicious, 11 year old Coffey still whisky from Japan. Plenty of cereal grain and barley character have been retained, this being a distillation from pure malted barley. There was a nice cask influence and some more unusual flavours indicative of the ‘exotic’ Japanese heritage of this dram.