Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt

What it is

A blended malt built entirely from Nikka's two malt distilleries, named after founder Masataka Taketsuru. Bottled at 43% with no age statement. The current version arrived in 2020 after Nikka retired the 17, 21 and 25 year age statements, and it won World's Best Blended Malt at the World Whiskies Awards in 2023.

Where it comes from

Nikka's product page describes the key components as sherry cask Yoichi malt, sherry cask Miyagikyo malt and remade cask Miyagikyo malt. Both distilleries are Japanese. The page carries none of the imported whisky notice that appears on Nikka From The Barrel, and trade reporting on Nikka's per-product disclosures lists Taketsuru Pure Malt among the products meeting the Japan Spirits and Liqueurs Makers Association criteria.

That last point is worth sitting with. Nikka is one of the few producers that publishes this bottle by bottle, and within the same brand the answers differ. It's the most useful transparency in the category.

How it's made

Yoichi in Hokkaido uses direct coal-fired pot stills and makes a heavy, peaty, maritime spirit. Miyagikyo near Sendai uses large steam-heated stills for something lighter and fruitier. Blending the two is the whole idea, and Nikka's stated aim was a malt whisky as easy to drink as a blend, which is harder than it sounds without grain whisky to smooth it out.

What to expect

Apple and apricot on the nose with toast and vanilla, then banana and orange with real malt weight behind it, and a gentle peat note through a bittersweet finish. Balanced rather than showy.

How it compares

Against Yoichi or Miyagikyo single malts individually, this is the marriage of the two and smoother than either. Against Nikka From The Barrel, that one is stronger, more intense and contains imported whisky. Against Hibiki Japanese Harmony, Taketsuru is all malt and Hibiki has grain in it.