We wanted to mix things up our second evening, so our selection reflected a wee jaunt around the world from Japan to England to Australia to Scotland.

We decided to kick things off in the far east with a dram from Nikka. What do we know about Nikka Days? Just that it is a blend of Miyagikyo and Yoichi with grain… and not much more.

Nikka Days 40%

• Nose – Honey, pickled seaweed in a Bento box, tobacco leaf, subtly fruity floral, sour dough, pastry, bit of apple and pear, apple pie then hint of citrus
• Palate – Straight forward, light spice with a bit of smoke, warming… back to apple pie
• Finish – Minimal

A clear appetizer dram… a nice way to get thing started with a curl of smoke to add a little something more. No complexity or nuance, just a relatively light bright beginning… a way to whet the appetite.

While not listed on the Nikka website, TWE share the producer tasting notes….

• Nose: Apples, pears and strawberry liquorice. Perfumed notes of daiginjo sake and white melon. Grainy flavours develop, with freshly crushed barley and malting floor sweetness floating out of the glass. White chocolate and a sprinkling of lemon zest sit at the back.
• Palate: Creamy and soft, with grapes and apples on top of toffee and candied lemon. Delicate white chocolate notes are joined by darker liquorice hints and a tiny touch of barrel char smokiness. Right at the back is a bowl of apples, freshly peeled and sliced.
• Finish: Lemon zest and buttery biscuits. Barley sugar sweetness to leave grain and spice.

Delicate and fragrant at first, with more weight hiding behind. A great all-rounder with enough complexity to sip and enough oomph to shine in a mixed drink.

Reading the notes long after we sampled, I could certainly see some alignment with what we found. However complexity and oomph? Not so much…. But overall a nice starter!

Just to give a feel for pricing, I checked it out on Master of Malt – at the time of writing, it is  available for GBP 39. That’s exceedingly affordable these days for quite a drinkable blend!

What else did we try in our 2nd Dunkerton evening?

• Japan – Nikka Days 40%
• England – Lakes Distillery Steel Bonnets 46.6%
• Australia – Starward Nova 41%
• Scotland – Fettercairn 10 year 40%

And other Nikka experiences? There’s been a few…

• All Malt 40%
• Coffey Grain Whisky 45% + Oct’18
• Coffey Malt Whisky 45%
• Nikka Blended Whisky 40%
• Nikka ‘From the Barrel’ 51.4%, Sep’15, + Mar’19
• Nikka Pure Malt 21 year 43%
• Super Nikka Whisky 43% 
• Super Rare Old Nikka 43% – Comparing 1980s with Today
• Taketsuru Pure Malt 17 year 43%
• The Nikka 12 year 43%

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