Holy moly, it seems like just a moment ago that I was typing up my favorite pours of 2018 and yet here we are at the conclusion of another year ... and decade for that matter. I've decided to mildly change things for 2019 and go with 'memorable' rather than 'favorite' pours. The truth is, I find some enjoyable aspect of nearly every whiskey I have tried and/or purchased through the years which results in my 'favorites' list being in a state of constant flux. Memorable whiskies however are those that come out of nowhere and totally blow my socks off or punch way above their weight. Essentially, these are whiskies whose purchase was a leap of faith or one that I had no great expectations for yet they dazzled and delighted.
First up, we head to Japan and one of Nikka's two distilleries, the Miyagikyo Distillery. Opened in 1969 and featuring eight pot stills, it's Miyagikyo's other still type, of which they have two examples, that is the focus today - Coffey column stills. Purchased by Nikka's founder Masataka Taketsuru in 1963 from the James Calder & Co. distillery in Bo'ness, Scotland, a Coffey still is an early variant of a column still, named after its inventor Irishman Aeneas Coffey in 1830. Column still manufacturers improved on Coffey's design through the years and today, column stills are used all over the world to produce almost every type of distilled spirit. What makes Nikka's two Coffey stills special however is that they are effectively distillation time capsules - woefully inefficient and primitive when compared to their modern-day counterparts, Nikka's Coffey stills produce a distillate entirely unique and only possible in those nearly sixty year old stills.
Nikka produces four types of spirits in their two Coffey stills - gin, vodka, malted barley whisky and the inspiration for this writeup - grain whisky. Of the four Coffey distilled spirits, only the malted barley and grain whiskies are exported to the United States. Speaking of grain, in Nikka's case, the grain consists of corn, 95% corn coupled with 5% malted barley. After distillation the grain whisky is sent to what is assumed to be a wildly diverse set of barrels for maturation - ex-bourbon and sherry all at various stages of 'freshness', hogsheads, butts, new oak, the list of possibilities really is staggering. Frustratingly, but understandably, Nikka remains mum on precisely how diverse their whiskey maturation barrel spread is. From here, Nikka's blenders take over, selecting and batching the final product from that deep and varied roster of barrels. Not for not, but here is where I personally feel the Japanese excel in whisky production - blending a myriad of different maturation styles into a final, composed whisky.
This bottle of Coffey Grain came into my life in precisely the same manner that the bottle of Nikka Pure Malt did - on clearance at my local grocery store. Marked down to $44.99, my curiosity peaked and the bottle came home with me. At the time of purchase, I had no knowledge of the whisky's tasting notes, production characteristics, or how it had fared on the various whiskey review sites across the Internet. I quite literally went into my first pour with zero idea what was in store for me. Imagine my genuine surprise when my first sniff of the glass reminded me immediately of corn whisky. Perhaps naively I had no expectation whatsoever that a Japanese distillery would choose to make a corn whisky; of all the grains I would have anticipated the Japanese using, corn was never in the realm of possibility for me. The aroma wafting up from the glass was seductively shocking - sweet corn, creamed corn, kettle corn, vanilla, some caramel are all at the forefront of the aroma. With time and patience, a gentle floral perfume emerges from the sugary shadows of the corn. Also lurking behind the corn sweetness is an unmistakable grassy grain/barley note. Really delicious stuff.
Moving on to the taste, I recall muttering my satisfaction such that my much better half's curiosity was peaked and asked to join along in the tasting. The sweetness from the nose continues on to the tongue but to a lesser degree. The whisky tastes sweet, but not a cloying sweetness; a controlled sweetness. The vanilla continues as does a subtle savory floral note. There is a dry grass/grain note on the palate as well as subtle fruit like apricot and nectarine. There is a creaminess, a velvety smoothness to the whisky that totally cloaks the respectable 45% ABV bottling strength. The finish, the weakest part of the experience for me, is medium-short and definitely left me wanting for more. The addition of water slightly tames the sweetness and exposes more of the floral/grassy notes, but to my tastes, the whisky is just about perfect exactly as it pours from the bottle.
It would be reasonable to think that Coffey Grain's 95% corn mashbill would make it an excellent and safe recommendation to anyone that enjoys bourbon, but I don't think that is the case at all. Nikka's Coffey Grain is far too gentle and restrained when compared to a typical bourbon's bold oak, caramel, and alcohol punch. I would however recommend this to fans of Scotch and Irish whisky, particularly if sweeter drams are enjoyed/preferred.
In a somewhat amusing (and frustrating) aside, I so enjoyed my initial pours of Coffey Grain that I swung by the same grocery store a few days later to pick up another bottle at their marked-down price but alas, the shelf space was empty; the clerk told me someone showed up and purchased the remaining three bottles claiming the price was too good to be true. And this brings me to the Debbie Downer aspect to this tale - the increasingly ludicrous (personal opinion) price Japanese Whisky commands at retail. Beginning in 2015(ish) and continuing through today, Japanese whisky prices have relentlessly climbed higher and higher. Today, the average asking price for Nikka's Coffey Grain whisky in my area is $70 - $80, nearly double what I paid for it. Personally, as much as I enjoy this whisky, I do not see myself willingly purchasing a bottle at today's asking price. At the end of the day, this is still a non-age stated grain whisky. Yes, it delivers an enjoyable experience, but that enjoyment is disproportionate to its current retail price in my opinion.
My recommendation is to seek out a reasonably priced pour of this whisky at a bar. Happily, the whisky is readily available and given the very posh reputation Japanese Whisky holds at the moment, the chances of finding a bottle at a watering hole is high. Give it a shot and if it twinkles the stars in your night sky, then seek out a bottle to call your very own.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and may your chestnuts be roasty while your angels be heralded and singy.
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