Nikka From The Barrel Whisky

The Japanese sure know how to surprise.

Made by the Yoichi distillery, the second and smaller distillery of the Nikka Whisky Company. It was founded in 1934 by one of the two most influential men in Japanese Whisky, Masataka Taketsuru. Yoichi Distillery lies in southern Hokkaido and has three sides surrounded by mountains, a terrain much similar to the one found in Scotland, where Masataka studied the art of Whisky production and returned to Japan as a master blender - with a Scottish wife to boot. Yoichi possesses its own cooperage and is particularly careful when selecting its barrels. Known as Hogshead the barrels are made on-site using new oak. Yoichi produces big, oily spirits in the Highland style.

Nikka From The Barrel Whisky is made by maturing malt and grain Whisky, blending them and then re-casking (a process known as “marriage”) to create a rich harmony of different Whiskies. It’s bottled directly from the re-casked barrels and therefore retains almost the same alcohol percentage. The Barrel Whisky has won top prizes in its category at the World Whisky Awards in 2007 and 2010.