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Yoichi 15 Year Old Single Malt Whisky, Nikka Whisky Distilling Company N.V.

CategoryWhisky
TypeSpirit
Alcohol70%

Masataka Taketsuru moved to Scotland from Japan in 1918 and dedicated his life to the art of whisky making. In 1920 he returned to Japan (with a Scottish wife) and founded Nikka in Hokkaido (he thought this location to be the most alike to the Scottish Highlands due to its clean air, humidity and peaty soil). Today, Nikka Whisky is firmly established within world whisky's elite few and regularly wins coveted awards.

View all spirits by Nikka Whisky Distilling Company

Tasting Notes

Nose (22 out of 25 points) Surprisingly quiet and well behaved considering the light smokiness drifting about. Taste (23.5 out of 25 points) Nutty, chewy and with lots of early toffee. Juices up to puckering effect as the barley and phenols strikes home. Finish (23 out of 25 points) Sweet and spicy in the right places as the malt begins to find its legs and goes up a notch or two. Balance (23 out of 25 points) For an early moment or two possibly one of the most salivating whiskies you'll get your kisser around this year. Wonderfully entertaining yet you still suspect that this is another Yoichi reduced in effect somewhat by either caramel and/or sherry. When it hits its stride though, becomes a really busy whisky that gets tastebuds in a right lather. But I'm being picky as I know that this is one of the world's top five distilleries and am aware as anyone on this planet of its extraordinary capabilities. Great fun; great whisky - could be better still, but so much better than its siblings...45%, 91.5 points

91.5
Jim Murray, The Whisky Bible, January 2013

The Yoichi 15-year-old packs the trademark charcoal punch that is maybe due to the fact that Yoichi is one of the last distilleries on earth to use direct heat from a charcoal flame to fire their pot stills. Grassy and fresh, there is a fine transition from the fresher characteristics to more tobacco and from fresh tree fruit to more dried stone fruit. The only downside is a slightly shorter finish than you'd expect. It is a fine step on the way to the 20-year-old but almost unnecessary because the 12 is also an outstanding whisky.

94
Ellioit Faber, JamesSuckling.com, October 2014
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.