Pine

Nikka Whisky from the Barrel

Nikka Whisky from the Barrel

Nikka Whisky was launched in 1940. Nikka is short for Nippon Kaju, slightly shortened from Dai Nippon Kaju or “The Great Japanese Juice Company”, the name of the corporation Masataka Taketsuru founded in 1934 after returning to Japan from Scotland and leaving Suntory after a decade to form his own business. This company sold apple products at first, while the whisky aged. Today, the brands produced under the Nikka umbrella come from the Miyagikyo and Yoichi distilleries primarily if they are made in Japan. The Nikka Whisky from the Barrel is made from a blend of 100 different batches of malt and grain whiskies to integrate the flavors and bottled at what is believed to be an ideal proofage. 

Westland Sherry Wood

Westland Sherry Wood

Westland Distillery was founded in 2010 in Seattle by Matt Hofmann, and the Westland Sherry Wood is one of the three core offerings, along with the Peated and American Single Malt. Like those offerings, the Sherry Wood was moved to the distillery’s Heritage Collection in 2022 to make room for a new signature single malt expression. The base spirit of this whiskey is the same as the American Single Malt, fermented with Belgian Saison Brewer’s yeast, but then finished in ex-Pedo Ximénez and Oloroso sherry casks for an undisclosed amount of time. While there are supplies out on liquor store shelves and this single malt is still available for purchase via the distillery’s online store as of this review, there is no more being currently produced.

High Coast Sixty Three

High Coast Sixty Three

Sweden is a northern country and High Coast Distillery is on the outskirts there too, situated in Sörviken at 63ºN. That latitude served as the inspiration of the High Coast Sixty Three, where every element of the whisky and its making that could be rounded to that number was. It is peated single malt whisky peated to 63ppm, matured in 198 63 liter casks for 63 months (5+years), aged at 63 decimeters – roughly 20 feet – below ground. The first batch of this limited edition was bottled at 63ºF. Heck, the price of the grain in the Swedish currency was 6.3 krona per kilogram. The batch size was a 6300 liter wort and the average fermentation time was 63 hours. Even the cooper who made the barrels was born in 1963.