Nikka Yoichi Single Malt Japanese Whisky

Classification: Japanese Whisky
Distillery: Nikka Yoichi Distillery
Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley
Age: NAS
Proof: 90

This whisky sneaks up on you like that one uncle at New Year’s who swears he’s “just having tea.”

Nose: Fresh orchard fruits, fruity peat, smells like someone spilled apple cider at a sumo match. Gentle but firm peat—like a polite bow that somehow still knocks you over. Balanced? Yes. Too balanced? Maybe.

Palate: First sip—BAM. Peat and oak, like two drunk karaoke singers fighting over the same mic. But then malt whisky swoops in—“don’t worry, I got this”—fills your mouth with silky smoothness. Petrichor, perfume… honestly, if rain smelled like this, I’d just lie down in the street with my mouth open.

Finish: Sweet peat again. Gentle peat. Delicate peat. I keep saying peat so much it’s starting to sound like my cousin’s nickname. Pears, plums, and that umeboshi tartness—yes, the little salty demon you eat with rice. It leaves you mouthwatering like you just chewed on a cloud that owed you money.

Overall: I thought this had grain in it. NOPE. Pure malt, baby. Creamy oak and fruity malt holding hands while peat plays third wheel. Delicious, balanced, classy… and dangerously drinkable. If you’re not careful, you’ll be writing haikus to your empty glass by the end of the night.