Nikka Blended Whisky

This lesser known blend by Nikka is meant for the Japanese market. The label says ‘Malt Base Whisky’. What does that mean? That it contains malt whisky and thus is a blend, I suppose, as this Nikka is simply called ‘The Blend’. A little confusing as there is also another bottling called ‘The Blend of Nikka’, which has another recipe. Anyway, let’s get to it. Well, the nose offers a big dollop of sweet malt, but also some candlewax and olive oil. I would not call this fruity, although it does has a hint of banana, but little else. Having said that, this is quite a pleasant nose, although a bit austere and direct, if you know what I mean. On the palate, I’m not convinced, to be honest. It is fairly dry, spicy and shows a lot of wood. It tastes a little metallic. But the mix clearly contained some peaty whisky as well, for the smokiness becomes quite big and even has a salty edge. Ginger is the spice on duty. The finish is short, but very peaty. Unfortunately I cannot get rid of the metallic taste. This has nothing to do with the soft and sweet blends that I have tried from Nikka before. This is, however, quite close to the Nikka Pure Malt Black.

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