Nikka Taketsuru NAS Sherry Wood Finish 43%abv

taketsuru_sherry_wood_NASNose: Maltesers, caramel, oak, lacquer, dried fruits. Very gentle.
Palate: This is where things step up a few notches over the Taketsuru 12YO(I haven’t tried the standard NAS). Lots of juicy dried fruits, malt, quite a some pepper, sugared orange slices, and in lesser measure sherry, cloves and paprika. The oak is subdued.
Finish: Dried fruits, sugared orange slices, sherry, young tawny port and some decent length.
Last Word: Not amazingly complex but well balanced, the extra punch offered by the sherry cask finish is a welcome addition. Nose is a bit soft for my liking however.

Rating: 83/100

*Sample courtesy of Clint at Whiskies R Us

5 thoughts on “Nikka Taketsuru NAS Sherry Wood Finish 43%abv

  1. I know you didn’t get any, Brian, but my favourite Taketsuru is the 17yo 46% non-chill filtered released a couple of years ago or so.
    It’s MUCH better than the standard 17yo.
    I’ve nearly finished my first bottle, so I’d better save you a sample!
    It was a bit pricy then, but now anything good under 10,000 yen is starting to look good value.
    There aren’t many bargains any more, unless you go to Japan & ferret around in every liquor shop you can find for bottles that have been sitting around for a while.

    • I’m surprised that NCF isn’t standard Alan. That way we wouldn’t have to worry about limited releases that sell out and then resell for silly prices.
      I’m not sure I bought more than 12 bottles this year. I mean, it’s not like I don’t have plenty of open stuff to choose from already but I have to be far more judicious with my purchases with the way prices are. I think the most I ever spent on any Hanyu was $350(Joker Monochrome) and on a Karuizawa about same, ’79 Japanese release.

      • I agree, Brian, NCF 46% should replace the existing 17yo.
        Why stuff around with something that’s inferior?
        Not that the standard 17yo is a dud – it’s just that the limited release showed that they can do so much better.
        Why waste time pumping out second best?
        Of course, it’s about money.
        It’s just that, being a purist, I don’t think we should have to pay through the nose for the good stuff.
        After all, the Iwai Tradition WCF & the Nikka Coffey Malt are great drams at modest prices.

  2. Still a big favourite of mine Brian. Maltesers Yum! In my opinion the sherry cask finish on this works real well. As you you there is/can be a lot of “hit&miss” with “finishing” but this one ticks all the right boxes, well for me…another one of those bottles, for my personal liking, where I should have bought a few….hang on a minute….I couldn’t, they were sold out quicker than you can say “I’ll have two please”.

    • Haha Clint, don’t know what the original price was but sometimes you snooze you loose unfortunately. One think I forgot to mention but where in my original hand written notes was the total lack of sulphur, so excellent casks.
      Cheers
      Brian

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