INTERMISSION: RECYCLED 04

Something in me wants to hold on to those empty bottles, at least until I bid them farewell in this pseudo eulogy on here. And I haven’t even been doing side-by-side tastings in a long time! It’s been exactly three months since my last confession! Oh well. I’m sure I’ll get back into the groove […]

Mars Maltage “Cosmo” vs Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt

Welcome back to another excellent tasting of two whiskies [it’s Japanese blended malts today], where I get to sip them side-by-side, compare the slight differences between them, take down these notes in real-time, then pick a favourite, and hopefully learn something new along the way. If you’re too impatient to find out the winner, you […]

White Oak Tokinoka Black vs Nikka From The Barrel

Welcome back to another excellent tasting of two drams, where I get to sip them side-by-side, compare the slight differences between them, take down these notes in real-time, then pick a favourite and hopefully learn something new along the way. Won’t you join me on this journey? Up for a tasting are two Japanese blended […]

Nikka Days vs Nikka From The Barrel

And we’re back for another fine sampling of two whiskies where I get to peel apart the tiny differences by tasting them side-by-side. In keeping up with my recent journey across the Japanese offerings, and while the last few drams I’ve tasted are still fresh in my mind (see how Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt goes […]

Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt vs Nikka Pure Malt Red

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 […]

Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt vs The Nikka Tailored

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 […]

Intermission: on Japanese Whisky

I just came back from spending nearly a month in Japan, where, as you can imagine, I’ve had the opportunity to explore a lot more local products that have not been exported to other regions. I’ve visited a few distilleries, and I’ve had plenty of drams, not to mention the abundance of beer, sake, and […]

Nikka Coffey Grain vs Nikka Coffey Malt

I’m having a sort of love-hate relationship with the Japanese whiskies lately. Some of it may be coloured by the fact that many distilleries hid the original source of their ingredients and, prior to the most recently announced regulation, have even repackaged Scotch whisky under the Japanese label. By 2024, all products labelled as “Japanese whisky” must be fermented, distilled, aged and bottled in Japan.