Nikka Yoichi NV Single Malt Japanese Whisky

Production area/level: Japan, Yoichi Town
Alcohol content: 45%

Yoichi is located in Yoichi, Hokkaido, Japan. It is owned by the famous Japanese whiskey producer Nikka Whiskey Distilling. It is a Japanese whiskey distillery with a long history. It and Suntory have become the two major camps of Japanese whiskey.

In 1918, Masataka Taketsuru, who was only 24 years old, went to Scotland to study alone in order to explore the secrets of Scotch whiskey making. He was the first Japanese to learn whiskey distilling technology in Scotland. He studied chemistry at Glasgow University and served as an apprentice at three Scottish distilleries. Masataka Taketsuru, as a foreigner from Asia, encountered obstacles in his studies. Until he met the general manager of Longmorn Distillery, who admired Masataka Taketsuru's persistence and taught him everything he knew about whiskey making. Longmorn Distillery is a small but historic distillery that has always produced high quality whiskey. Later, Taketsuru married Rita and the two moved to Campbeltown and joined whiskey making at Hazelburn Distillery.

In 1920, with the support of his wife, Taketsuru learned the basic knowledge of whiskey at Longmorn and comprehensive techniques at Hazelburn. He brought it back to Japan and became the first Japanese to master the method of making Scotch whiskey. He was also praised for it. He is the "Father of Japanese Whiskey". The passionate Taketsuru Masataka was hit hard as soon as he returned to Japan, because Japan had just experienced the First World War. At this time, Japan was going through the difficult moments after the war. Big wineries were closing down one after another, and even more Don’t talk about building a new winery at this time. In these difficult times, Kotobukiya, the predecessor of Suntory Corporation, was looking for someone who could make whiskey. As a Japanese who truly understood Scotch whiskey at the time, Taketsuru was hired by Kotobukiya with a large sum of money to work at the famous Yamazaki Distillery and brewed Japan's first pure whiskey. Later, due to various reasons such as different ideas, the two parted ways. In 1934, Taketsuru decided to leave his old employer and decided to build his own distillery. He established Ikko's first distillery, Yoichi Distillery, in Yoichi Town. To this day, these two distilleries are still the two pillars of the Japanese whiskey industry.

It is said that Taketsuru decided on the location of Yoichi Distillery with reference to the location of Hazelburn Distillery, as he believed that the climate and natural features of northern Japan were very similar to those of Scotland. Finally, he found a perfect location in Yoichi, located at 43.2° north latitude. Close to the sea and surrounded on three sides by mountains, this place is similar in many ways to Scotland's Highlands. The climate is cold, the humidity is suitable, and it has fresh air and clear water.Nearby is the largest peatland in Japan. The special landform and the impact of swamp degradation have created Ishikari peat, which provides the malt with a distinctive smoky flavor. There are very few private residential areas in this small town, only lonely wilderness overgrown with weeds. Extensive fields of barley are grown. The sea breeze also brings a slightly different flavor to Yoichi whiskey. These are all the elements Masataka Taketsuru needs to ideally produce whiskey. Despite the inconvenience of transportation, Masataka Taketsuru still firmly believes that this is the best place to brew whiskey.

Compared with the rich and traditional taste of Suntory's Yamazaki and Hakushu series, Ichika's Yoichi whiskey is famous for producing single malt whiskeys with strong body, rich smoky flavor and great personality. When building the Yoichi distillery, Masataka Taketsuru used traditional coal-fired distillation, similar to the pot stills he used when he was an apprentice at Longmorn Distillery in Scotland.This tradition is not common today because its temperature is difficult to control. Every 7-8 minutes, workers shovel some coal into the furnace below each still. The boilermaker must use a rake to burn the coal. Heaps were used to control the temperature. Because it was too labor-intensive, it was gradually replaced by the indirect steam distillation method at that time. Yoichi has always retained this very traditional distillation method, and because of this, Yoichi’s single malt whiskey often has a unique coke flavor. Because the distillery is so close to the sea, its whiskey often has the salty flavor of the ocean.

In addition, Yoichi is the only distillery in Japan that uses all new oak barrels for aging, and has its own small cooperage. As early as the 1980s, Yoichi was accustomed to using new oak barrels that had been toasted to carbonization (charred) on the surface. This method was very different from the Scotch whiskey at that time. Most of the Scotch whiskey at that time would use Spanish sherry barrels. Sherry barrels were secondary barrels used in Spain to brew sherry. They were sorted and baked again. The barrel wall method is used to age whiskey, and it is believed that the whiskey matured in this way has a smoother and sweeter taste.

New oak barrels will have a greater impact on the body of the wine in a short period of time, and the cost of brewing will be much higher than the sherry barrels used in Scotch whiskey at the same time. Even so, Yoichi still maintains this habit. Only a powerful liquor like Yoichi original sake can add the unique woody and vanilla flavor of new barrels without covering up the deep taste of the original liquor.

In 1940, six years after building the factory, Masataka Taketsuru brewed the first whiskey, which was called Nikka, short for Nippon Kaju, which evolved into the company name in 1952. Due to the recovery of the Japanese whiskey industry and the improvement of market demand, the demand for barley in distilleries is increasing day by day, and the locally grown malt can no longer meet the demand for brewing. So they started importing malt from Scotland. At present, its imported malt is mainly divided into three categories: peat-free, normal peat value and heavy peat value.

During Japan's economic downturn in the early 20th century, Yoichi's brewing method, which spared no effort to maintain a strong taste, suffered greatly. During that time, Yoichi Distillery could only operate once a week, and this reduced production continued for 10 years. This has also led to a serious shortage of original wine stocks. Unexpectedly, the TV drama boom consumed all the original wine that Yuichi had preserved. Due to the popularity of Japanese dramas, Yoichi Whiskey announced in 2015 that it would discontinue all major product lines. In order to cushion the impact of the production shutdown on the market, a limited edition Yoichi heavy coal single malt whiskey was even released, which sold out quickly.

Fortunately, Nikka decided to retain the Yoichi brand. Since the original Yoichi liquor had been consumed, the company had to use the original liquor of another of its brands, "Taketsuru", to brew new Yoichi whiskey. Mature vintage wine takes time. Prior to this, Yoichi only produced a non-vintage single malt whiskey. The style of this whiskey is still bold and strong, with a smoky flavor brought by direct fire distillation over coal, and a light salty flavor brought by the sea breeze during the aging process.

Today, a small distillery as far away as Hokkaido has grown into one of Japan’s whiskey giants. In addition to the Yoichi single malt whiskey brand, Nikka also owns Miyagikyo single malt whiskey, Taketsuru blended malt whiskey and the Nikka series of whiskeys.

Yoichi Unaged is a single malt whiskey that combines different ages. It not only maintains the strong structure of traditional Yoichi malt whiskey, but its smooth and smooth taste distinguishes it from other Yoichi whiskeys. It is a super entry-level version of Yoichi malt whiskey. .