Nikka Taketsuru 21 Years Old 80th Anniversary of the founding of Nikka 48% 2014

Professional reviews

Serge Valentin (89)

A special release that’s non-chill filtered, at it says on the tin – which implies that the regular Taketsuru 21 is chill filtered, naturally. I really like that one, that’s bottled at 43% instead of 48 here (WF 87).

Colour: full gold.

Nose: interesting, we’re somewhere between some old cough syrups and turpentine, and some kind of coal smoke – plus triple-sec. And then, I swear I do find a little sake, touches of tinned litchis, macadamia nuts, cigar boxes and a wee mix of tropical fruits. Some kind of dusty mint on top of all that (old mint tea?), which isn’t a flaw at all here. Mouth: excellent. Chocolate mints, lemon balm, amaretti, marzipan, liquorice, blood oranges and again this wee herbal dryness that we found in the nose. Slightly over-infused herbal teas? Lovely smoke. Can you smoke blood oranges? Good, solid body, perfect strength.

Finish: quite long, candied, liquoricy and delicately smoky. Bergamots, juicy prunes, then more spices from some rather active oak, as often with the Japanese (and the Scots since a few years). White pepper.

Comments: only the oak that’s maybe a tad too ‘obvious’ in the aftertaste will prevent me from going up to 90+. A very complex composition that I find rather smokier than the ‘regular’ 21. Does chill-filtration remove peat?

BOW (90)