As mentioned in my previous post, I’d like to spend more time with Japanese Whisky and see what the craze is all about. I just spent about a month travelling around Japan and individually tasting various expressions, but now it’s time for a more clinical approach, where I pair two selected drams side by side and see how they stand out against each other. Up for today’s tasting is a dram of The Nikka Tailored, which I found hiding behind door number one of the Japanese Whisky Advent Calendar by Drinks by the Dram (2021 Edition). I decided to try it next to Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt, which has been sitting on my shelves for a few years now. In the last week, I have already opened this bottle and have sipped on it with dinner just to see how well it goes down. So I’m excited to see how it will stand up against the slightly higher-priced The Nikka Tailored. So let’s do this, folks! But first, we need the music! Now playing: David Cordero & Warmth – Night Scenes.

As you may have guessed, both expressions hail from the Nikka distillery, established by Masataka Taketsuru – hence his name on the label. Nikka owns two main distilleries: Yoichi and Miyagikyo. Yoichi mainly produces malt whisky, while Miyagikyo also distils grain in Coffey stills, a special kind of distillation apparatus that allows for continuous distillation and generally results in a smoother spirit [see more details here]. Combining the outputs of both, Nikka has an extensive lineup of whiskies and spirits in its portfolio (which also includes gin and vodka). But let’s begin our journey with Taketsuru Pure Malt, which is a signature brand in honour of the founder. This is a blended malt (no grain alcohol in here) produced in both distilleries (so this whisky qualifies to be 100% Japanese as defined by the new rules). It’s filtered, coloured, and straight to the point, bottled at 43% ABV. There is nothing particularly remarkable about this dram, but it’s a great example of a perfectly blended malt by this Japanese company. To me, it’s like a benchmark whisky which I could [and I will] use to compare others. It sets the standard, and for that, I’d recommend it as a great entry-level malt. There are cheaper whiskies from Nikka, so when I say “entry-level”, I don’t mean the price but more of a norm-setting for the region. Does that make sense? In fact, The Nikka Tailored is nearly twice the price! And it’s a blend! That means that, unlike Taketsuru Pure Malt, there is grain whisky in the mix. Both have no age statement, so we don’t know the youngest whisky. And The Nikka Tailored is also coloured and chill-filtered and bottled at 43%. So with this added grain and twice the price, is it actually better?

The Nikka Tailored is slightly darker in colour, but folks, let me remind you once again that this doesn’t necessarily indicate quality or flavour – that’s because of E150A, a [flavourless?] caramel colouring often used in whisky production. It’s sweeter on the nose, giving off a hint of sherried aroma. I predict it to be thicker on the palate, a term that refers to the texture and mouthfeel of the whisky, just in the way I see the oils on the glass. Taketsuru Pure Malt has the honied sweetness on the nose, dried apricots, dried apples, distant caramel and oak. It’s got a pretty shallow and fast finish, but once again, I have no reason to complain. And as expected, The Nikka Tailored tastes a little sweeter, but now we have the plums, the sherry, and some spice. The grain is there, but it’s very far and non-invasive. And the arrival is indeed a lot more rounder and smoother. The finish is much longer than the one in Taketsuru Pure Malt, and its full body makes me want to take another sip. I’m actually surprised that grain is found in here – it’s not the sharpest bite of pure grain alcohol that I expected. I’ve heard that in Japan, they also use oats for their grain whisky, but there’s no way to tell what’s in this dram. I can tell you that it’s definitely not rice because that’s an expensive commodity in that country. I suspect the mash bill contains a significant amount of corn, yielding a pure distillate from the Coffey still that matures into aged vodka. I think for sure (and I have said it once before) – The Nikka Tailored is a lot more sherried [and I like it!]. The company website also admits that this product does not meet the criteria of “Japanese whisky”, and that means that it most likely has some actual Scotch in here [as in, imported whisky from Scotland], and yes, let me remind you that Nikka owns Ben Nevis, so draw your own conclusions there. Taketsuru Pure Malt is indeed now thinner tasting, drier, and quicker on the finish. The Nikka Tailored offers up that “old-world blend” experience, where the grain perfectly compliments the malt.

Name / Style	Taketsuru Pure Malt / Japanese Vatted Malt	The Nikka Tailored / World Blended Whisky
Distillery / Region	Yoichi and Miyagikyo / Japan	Yoichi and Miyagikyo / Japan
Producer	Nikka	Nikka
Bottler / Series	Distillery bottling / core range	Distillery bottling / core range
Stated Age	NAS	NAS
Cask type	Undisclosed	Undisclosed
ABV / Cask Strength	43% / No	43% / No
Non-chill filtered/ Uncoloured	No / No	No / No
Price	£63	£113
Did it win? / Did I like it?	No / Yes	Yes / Yes
Would I buy it? / Recommend it?	Yes / Yes – great standard barrier	Maybe, expensive for a blend / Yes to try!

So what do we think, folks? I can tell you that The Nikka Tailored is indeed a much better, carefully crafted, well-put-together whisky from Japan. How does it compare to Scotch? I cannot tell – I already finished my 30ml sample. In the future, I’ll find another sample to compare against a worthy blend, perhaps from Douglas Laing or Compass Box. And yes, it would be great to compare it to Ben Nevis. And Taketsuru Pure Malt, we’ll see again on here – I already have a sample of Nikka Days ready for another tasting [perhaps tomorrow even]. But for now, I will conclude this and proclaim The Nikka Tailored as the winner of this round. It’s a fantastic opening from this Japanese Whisky Advent Calendar, for sure, but as I have learned in the past, it always is in the beginning and then falls off the cliff somewhere in the middle, before the fireworks of the last dram. Nevertheless, it is a journey worthy of your time and money!