Nikka Nine Decades (48%)

I understand that #TariffTimes are now actually here and I will be returning to that series of reviews and recommendations in force later this week. However, I believe a pause is in order to tell you all about a rather remarkable Japanese whisky that snuck to market without my noticing it last month. If you have a few extra grand sitting about, it’s something very much worthy of your consideration!

The Nikka distillery is without question one of the most important in Japan, and certainly the most historic. It was founder Masataka Taketsuru who brought Scottish whisky-making techniques to Japan, working with Suntory until 1934, when he left to start up his own Yoichi Distillery.

Which means that Nikka is now ninety years old, and to celebrate this anniversary the distillery has released a blended whisky composed of spirits distilled during each decade of its existence, beginning with whisky made in 1945.

Each bottle of Nine Decades comes with a book that explains a bit about all the spirits used in the blend, and frankly there is far too much information contained therein for me to even attempt to summarize it here. Instead, then, I will offer a few highlights: 

·         The first whisky dates from 1945, which was obviously made during a period of great hardship and deprivation. That any has survived in presumably good shape is a minor miracle;

·         The 1950s whisky is the first from Nikka to include peated malt, although I was unable to discern any smokiness in the Nine Decades;

·         The 1960s whisky comes from Scotland’s Ben Nevis Distillery, which Nikka purchased in 1989, three years after it had gone silent;

·         The 1980s whisky is a grain whisky distilled on a Coffey still, a process that has since become a singular specialty of the Nikka Distillery;

·         And the whisky from the 2010s was one of the first to be aged in Japanese Mizunara oak, unused since the 1950s but much prized today.   

Now, on to the whisky.

Deep gold in colour, this is one of those whiskies you could easily spend hours nosing. (Okay, maybe not hours, at least not without tasting it, but you get the point.) As you might expect of a spirit that spans nine decades, the aroma is spectacularly complex, with immediate notes of tanned leather and old cedar complemented by subtle aromas of dried fruit ranging from naturally dried apricot to desiccated orange peel. Hints of spice are mainly peppery, but extend even to a very soft whiff of something approaching caraway. By far the most intriguing aspect, however, is what Cognac producers refer to as rancio, which manifests here in a sort of nutty, earthy, almost mushroomy character that blends spectacularly with the dried fruit notes.

The palate entry immediately impresses with a light, floral fruitiness, leaning towards marmalade but lacking the tang that characterization might suggest. Such a relatively soft beginning, however, belies the impressive spirit flavours that are to follow, with walnut appearing alongside both fresh and older oak notes, orange peel complementing dry, spicy caramel, and cooked vanilla brightening the earthy flavours of very well-aged whisky. The finish warms as it satisfies, a bit too hot, perhaps, but not so much that I am in any way tempted to dilute such a tremendous whisky with even a drop of water.

As I have noted in reviews of other ultra-aged and steeply priced whiskies, whether or not this is for you depends entirely on the degree of wealth you possess. Were I to win a few million in the lottery on the weekend, this would absolutely be highly placed on the shopping list, but as someone of modest means I am content to have had the opportunity to try this but twice.

Still, maybe four thousand isn’t really all that much to pay for the chance to quite literally taste history.   

95 ($4,000)