Nikka Discovery 2021 Miyagikyo Peated and Yoichi Non-Peated Bundle

Japanese whisky giant Nikka operates two distilleries: Yoichi, founded in 1934, and Miyagikyo, founded in 1969. Traditionally, Yoichi’s whisky is intense and smoky, while Miyagikyo produces a lighter fruity malt intended to provide a good balance for blends.
With the Limited Edition Discovery Series, Nikka intends to give fans a peek at Nikka’s behind-the-scenes experiments and give their distilleries the flexibility to play around with different styles than the usual.
Part of the Discovery Series Volume 1, released in 2021, there are 2 expressionsincluded in this bundle: Miyagikyo Peated and Yoichi Non-Peated.

Miyagikyo Discovery Peated Single Malt

Miyagikyo expression was crafted solely from batches of peated malt, offering a significant distinction from the "light and fruity" image of Miyagikyo.

    Nose:    Charcoal smoke, grilled pineapples and peaches, some vanilla cream with a touch of buttered toast.

    Taste:    Hot and ashy, fades into salted butter popcorn, raw almonds or peanut shells. Develops into something sweeter, with fruits kicking in, grilled pineapples, peaches, raisins and some fruitcake.

    Finish:    Fairly quick, continuing with the nutty astringency and fresh cut herbs, but develops into this nice creamy sweetness, almost like that of peaches and cream.

Yoichi Discovery Non-Peated Single Malt

Yoichi expression is comprised solely of unpeated malts as opposed to the preconceived “peaty” image of Yoichi.

    Nose:    Malty cereals, milk chocolates, Milo and Ovaltine biscuits, fruit mix with tropical fruits in particular- lots of bananas, pineapples, oranges, with minor notes of guavas and pears.

    Taste:    Spices, very sweet and rich malty flavour, mild notes of bittersweet manuka honey, orchard fruits, Hokkaido apples, peaches and apricots.

    Finish:    Long, very malty and sweet.