Lazy
17 Dec

Christmas Countdown Day 8 – Taketsuru Pure Malt 17 Year Old

Christmas 2018, Nikka, Taketsuru

It’s Day 8 of our Christmas Countdown and that means we’re almost a week away from Christmas Day. By this point, our shopping should be finished, our turkey should be sourced and our Christmas lights should have been hanging from every wall in the house for some weeks now. If you are indeed that organised, what better way to relax than joining us as we explore another fantastic Japanese whisky.

Today we’re looking at an excellent release from Nikka and their Taketsuru Pure Malt brand that has become a staple of Japanese whisky fans and picked up some prestigious awards along the way. So without further ado, let’s get into the Taketsuru Pure Malt 17 Year Old.

Taketsuru Pure Malt

Taketsuru Pure Malt is a brand of blended whisky from Japanese whisky giants, Nikka, named after Masataka Taketsuru, the founder of the company and father of Japanese whisky.

The range includes a number of expressions that are known for being perfect examples of how a quality blended whisky should be made. They house a certain level of depth and complexity that is hard to find in many other products in the same category and highlight the mastery and precision of those behind the creations.

From the Pure Malt NAS (Non-age statement) blend, through the 17, 21, 25 and 35 Year Old, remains a consistently fascinating breadth of notes that are delivered with a certain smoothness and elegance, raising them to the next level.

As you work your way through the range, the notes on offer get deeper and richer. The sweet spot, in our humble opinion, is the 17 Year Old.

Don’t get us wrong, the older expressions are incredible as well, particularly if the power of well-matured whisky is your thing, but if we had to pick one bottle it would be the 17 – it delivers everything you could want in the most well-rounded fashion.

Taketsuru Pure Malt 17 Year Old

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The Pure Malt 17 Year Old Blend is made up from single malt whisky from the distilleries under Nikka’s ownership, Yoichi and Miyagikyo.

These two distilleries are famous for the quality of liquid they produce, with Yoichi exhibiting fruity, rich and peaty notes, while Miyagikyo is altogether more floral and gentle. The two combine fantastically well in the Taketsuru range and no better than in this expression.

Bold fruit flavours and subtle spices work their way onto your nose and palate, coming and going and bouncing off of each other to create something of a taste sensation.

The real star of the show here though is the gentle and gradually building peaty notes. Only slightly detectable on the nose, they come through heavier and heavier the more you sip to compliment the honey, sweet bananas and candied tarts in mouth-watering fashion.

It’s a fully accomplished blended malt and this has been highlighted by industry experts on several occasions, most notably when it was named “World’s Best Blended Malt” at this year’s World Whisky Awards.

If you’re looking to get a taste of an exceptional blended whisky, there is none that we would recommend higher than the Taketsuru Pure Malt 17 Year Old and so it more than deserves its place in our 2018 Christmas Countdown.

Other Pure Malt Expressions

As our favourite whisky in the range and a World Whisky Awards winner, we felt inclined to focus on the 17 Year Old today, but Nikka do of course have many other incredible expressions in the range if you fancy something a little older or more limited.

The 21 Year Old is richer and slightly more powerful, while the collectors among us might be interested in the 25 Year Old, released as a limited edition; the 12 Year Old, now discontinued to make way for the NAS bottling; or the 35 Year Old, the oldest in the range and limited to just 1000 bottles.

All four of these releases bring something a bit different to the table but, as previously mentioned, they all have that smooth, flavourful and elegant consistency that we’ve come to expect from Nikka whisky.

The Taketsuru range is a triumph and we hope to see more releases in the year to come, but for now we’ll have to settle with the current bottlings and, to be honest, that gives us plenty to enjoy.

For Today Only You Can Get 10% Off the Taketsuru Pure Malt 17 Year Old with Promo Code – “Countdown”

 

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Liam Hiller

A spirits expert and writer with experience of working with major brands across a range of wine and spirits categories, Liam has been in love with ‘the water of life’ since his first dram passed his lips. Since then he has made a point of studying and learning as much as possible about both Japanese whisky and Scotch, never passing up the opportunity to sample a new expression. Ever with his ear to the ground for new whisky releases, Liam has written content, and advised the purchasing team, for online Scottish whisky retailer Whisky Foundation since its conception in 2015. Now Head of Content for dekanta, he ensures the shelves are always stocked with the most exciting new releases of Japanese whisky, among other Japanese spirits, and keeps our subscribers informed about what’s hot in Japanese whisky. When he’s not tasting and writing about whisky, he’s playing football, seeking out great places to eat and spending time with his family.