Nikka from the Barrel Limited Edition 3 Bottle Assort (Extra Marriage/Malt Pieces/Grain Pieces)

Volume: 1.5 litres | Alcohol content: Extra Marriage: 51.4%; Malt Pieces of the Barrel: 58%; Grain Pieces of the Barrel: 58% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

Created to mark the 40th anniversary of Nikka From The Barrel, this limited-edition set presents the blend from three perspectives: Extra Marriage, Malt Pieces of the Barrel and Grain Pieces of the Barrel. Each square bottle contains 0.5 litres; Extra Marriage is bottled at 51.4%, while the two Pieces releases are bottled at 58% each.

Extra Marriage brings together the set’s malt and grain blends. After blending, the whisky matures for up to six additional months in used casks, giving it twice the marrying time of the regular bottling. Malt Pieces and Grain Pieces are likewise each married in cask for six months. These two special releases present the malt and grain sides respectively as distinct blends, without disclosing every individual whisky they contain.

Malt Pieces of the Barrel displays pronounced peat and smoke alongside malt, herbs, fruit, spices and medicinal nuances. A small proportion of heavily peated Yoichi malt and a batch shaped by new American oak complement the malt blend. Grain Pieces of the Barrel combines vanilla, fruit, herbs and floral notes with spices, chilli and a subtle medicinal tone. It also includes portions of a corn-and-rye whisky from Satsumatsukasa and matured Coffey grain whiskies.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: On the nose, Extra Marriage opens with beeswax, roasted pineapple and nutmeg. Ginger, malt, earthy and oily peat, chocolate and honey then emerge.
• Palate: On the palate, Extra Marriage displays medicinal, smoky and lemony tones. Honey, cocoa, cereal and apple and mirabelle plum jam lead into dry, mineral and saline peat.
• Finish: Extra Marriage has a long, lively and silky finish. Barley sugar, bitter almond and candied ginger soften the medicinal impression, while gentle wood and fine bitterness linger.

Distillery/Bottler:

Masataka Taketsuru, the founder of Nikka Whisky, learned both malt whisky production and grain distillation using Coffey stills in Scotland. In 1934, he established Nikka’s predecessor company in Hokkaido and built the Yoichi Distillery. With the opening of the Miyagikyo Distillery in 1969, Nikka gained a second source of deliberately distinct malt whisky; the Coffey still commissioned in 1964 had already broadened its possibilities for grain whisky.

For Nikka From The Barrel, the company combines more than one hundred malt and grain whiskies, primarily including malts from its two Japanese distilleries and distinctive Coffey grain whiskies. Nikka Whisky produces the three whiskies in the anniversary set and releases them as official bottlings; La Maison du Whisky is responsible for the Limited Edition.

Facts: