Nikka seeks whiskey diversity
A lot of distilleries are like Jack Nicholson. They have a trademark style or approach that makes them immediately identifiable. Andthen there are distilleries like Japan-based Nikka Whisky Distilling, which takes a very different approach.
“What makes us unique is the diverseness behind each process,” says Naoki Tomoyoshi, Nikka international sales chief. “Unlike Scotland, where more than 100 distilleries are producing their characteristic styles and so many various types of whiskeys are accessible for the blenders, we were forced into consciously making different types of whiskey, in-house.”
That’s both a reflection of time and circumstance. Nikka opened its first distillery in 1934 in Yoichi, which is located on the island of Hokkaido, where it heats its pot stillsby direct coal fire in the traditional (but rare) Scottish manner. Thirty-five years later it opened a second distillery on the island of Honshu, about two hours north of Tokyo, where the setting — Sendai’s fresh water, subtle humidity and crisp air — was ideal for producing whiskeys made with soft, mild malted grain.
“They’re two very different distilleries and countless variables in each process — from the peat levels, yeast, shape of stills, types of casks we use — allow us to produce a wide range of styles of whiskey,” Tomoyoshi says.
In thatway, Nikka is kind of likeDanielDay-Lewis, an actorwho, had you not read the opening credits, you might not identify given the lengths he went to disappear into the role. While Nikka’s approach could lead to derivative whiskeys or even those lacking personality, instead the mindset means it has no limits thereby enabling it to push boundaries to produce some of the most interesting, balanced whiskeys around.
Take Nikka Coffey Grain Whisky. Grain whiskey is typically used for blending but not often bottled on its own. Nikka’s take on the style, made using Coffey stills (a particular style of column still that produces spirits of higher alcohol by volume than other types of stills) makes for a delicious thick, fatty whiskey with notes of sweet corn, nutty oak, fudge and banana.
Or Taketsuru Pure Malt, a combination of whiskey frombothNikka distilleries. Matured in a combination of sherry butts, bourbon barrels and new American oak, the resulting whiskey is refined and well-balanced with sweet and honeyed notes and a slightly smoky finish.
While Nikka has made whiskey for 80-some years, the distillery is regularly pushing to craft something new. In fact, it is regularly experimenting to unearth the “seeds” of a new idea, Tomoyoshi says.
“We’re constantly looking for the right ‘seeds’ that will stimulate the curiosity of global whiskey drinkers,” he says. “We are not making the seeds in reaction to the market.”
Instead, it trusts that if it likes what it makes, so will plenty of other people. Given Nikka’s track record, that’s a safe bet.
Zak Stambor writer.
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