Welcome back to another fine pairing of two single malts side-by-side. Er… I’m off. These are not single malts but rather Japanese blended (aka vatted) malts from Nikka. And while one is just named Pure Malt, the other has a coloured suffix after that. In fact, I have discovered that there are also Black and even White pure malts under the Nikka label. So what’s this all about? Let us dig deep and peel apart the flavours, but first, we need music! Now playing: Gunnar Jónsson Collider – S.W.I.M.

Let’s do another quick run through the history of this Japanese brand. The “Taketsuru” label appearing on the first bottle bears a deep connection to the roots of Nikka, honouring its founder, Masataka Taketsuru. A man of vision and ambition, Taketsuru left the shores of his homeland to immerse himself in the art of Scotch whisky-making in Scotland. Not only did he fall in love with Scotch, but he also found his heart stolen by a local lass named Rita. With Scottish influence in tow, he returned to Japan to embark on his whisky venture. Originally, he lent his expertise to Suntory, but as his aspirations grew, he founded Nikka, and as they say, the rest is history. In a fitting tribute to the man, Nikka named one of their blends after him. This whisky is a symphony of two distinct melodies – Yoichi and Miyagikyo. It has no added grain, and so it is, indeed, a blended malt of two distilleries. The whisky underwent a bit of a makeover in 2020 when the label transformed into a new design. Accompanying the aesthetic change was a subtle shift in the recipe. The specifics of this alteration remain a mystery, but Nikka’s website assures that this new formula “further showcases an exquisite balance between elegant softness and deep complexity along with rich mouthfeel and smokiness…” Most importantly, it still meets all of the criteria of “Japanese whisky”, as defined by the Japan Spirits & Liqueur Makers Association. I’ve covered some basic tasting notes on Taketsuru Pure Malt in this write-up, comparing it against The Nikka Tailored.

Now, let’s explore the enigma that is Pure Malt Red. As per my research, it sticks to the same recipe and blend as its sibling whiskies but plays with the proportions of individual components. The ‘Black’ blend mainly includes the robust Yoichi malt, while the ‘Red’ shifts focus towards the malt from Miyagikyo distillery, promising to offer a softer, more delicate profile. But rather than merely speculating, let’s delve into a first-hand exploration! As I have mentioned in the past, both of these are chill-filtered, with the added caramel colouring, so I won’t judge on looks alone. The nose and the profile of the Taketsuru Pure Malt are still fresh in my memory from just a day ago, and it is clean, perfectly balanced, a little thin, a little sharp, baseline whisky. There’s nothing bad to say about it, but there’s also nothing extraordinary here. The Red is just a little sweeter but still has the same consistency in texture, mouthfeel and finish, with just a bit of stewed fruit on the palate. It’s not as smooth and full and round as The Nikka Tailored from before – and I can tell that from my memory alone. It’s basically Taketsuru Pure Malt, but more leaning towards the sherried category (even though I don’t think it was aged in ex-sherry casks) rather than the ex-bourbon or even peated malts. Let’s talk about the price, then. The Taketsuru Pure Malt set me back around £63, while the Red was part of my Japanese Whisky Advent Calendar from Drinks by The Dram. But what does it cost on the open market? It turns out it’s priced at £44 for a 50cl bottle. Time for a quick calculation! The Taketsuru Pure Malt comes out to be about £0.90 per cl, while the Red costs slightly less at £0.88 per cl. And so, a mere 2 cents in difference is not something to fret over.

Name / Style	Taketsuru Pure Malt / Japanese Vatted Malt	Pure Malt Red / Japanese Vatted Malt
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 / Vintage	NAS	NAS
Cask type	Undisclosed	Undisclosed
ABV / Cask Strength	43.0 / No	43.0 / No
Non-chill filtered/ Uncoloured	No / No	No / No
Price	£63 for 70cl	£44 for 50cl
Did it win? / Did I like it?	Yes, barely / Yes	No / Yes
Would I buy it? / Recommend it?	Yes / Yes	Yes/ Yes

So there you have it, folks. Another interesting tasting. I almost want to call it a tie since neither one particularly stands out. The Red possesses a slightly more refined aura that, paradoxically, seems to slightly under-deliver. It’s a touch sweeter but somewhat overzealous in its attempt to impress, whereas the Taketsuru Pure Malt strikes just the right chord, harmoniously balanced. One could argue that the Red is more “experimental” as if it’s flirting with various proportions of its malts to gauge the market response. Meanwhile, the Taketsuru Pure Malt delivers consistently, with no excessive fanfare or marketing campaign. With that, I will proclaim the Taketsuru Pure Malt as the winner of this round, but that doesn’t mean that you should listen to my call.

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On a somewhat unrelated note, if you’re interested in the history of Japanese whisky, and particularly Nikka, check out this fantastic Japanese television series from 2014 called Massan, which is based on the life of Masataka Taketsuru and his wife, Rita. There are 150 episodes, so be prepared for this to be more like a stretched-out TV drama.