Weekend of Trying New Things Part 1 - Japanese Whiskey

Our weekend wound up having a theme to it without us really thinking about it. Friday night was our date night #1 and included Japanese Whiskey from Two Ten Jack downtown. Needless to say, I want to go to Japan now mostly to visit distillery's. They have several bottles on the menu and we wound up getting a flight because we couldn't choose. 
*** we ordered dinner as well which was absolutely amazing and I think I'm addicted to the seaweed salad. I may post about more meals from here in the future, but today I wanted to focus on the delightful whiskey offerings *** 

On the Menu: 
// Hibiki 12yr
// Nikka Coffey
// Nikka Miyagikyo 12yr
// Nikki Yochi 15yr
// Nikka Taketsuru 17yr
// Nikka Taketsuru 21yr
// Yamazaki 18 yr


What our flight included: 
// Hibiki 12yr
// Nikka Coffey
// Nikki Yochi 15yr

Our favorite out of the flight was the Hibiki Harmony 12 year. There were such smooth notes in it, that we should have gotten more. Our description card quotes "Luminous, delicate and amber colored whisky. A transparency that unveils complexity. The whisky features rose, lychee, hint of rosemary, mature woodiness, sandalwood on the nose. The palate is honey like sweetness, candied orange peel, white chocolate with subtle, tender long finish with hint of Mizunara (Japanese oak) finish." We will be adding a bottle to our collection in the near future. It was definitely full bodied but not nearly as "spicy" as the Yochi. We sipped the Yochi and you definitely had to take a moment. It would be good in an Old Fashioned, in my personal opinion.  Notes from the producer regarding the Nikka Yochi  are "A mellow peat softly coats the aromatic palette at first, growing more powerful with time, as smoke, soot and salty notes transcend the initial nose. The aromas then evolve towards candied citrus fruit (lemon, orange), black licorice and spices (nutmeg, ginger), and opens up with roots and dried twig aromas. Heady and floral (carnation, iris), it grows increasingly complex. The finishing tastes are mature. 

Lastly, we tried the Nikka Coffey and enjoyed its lightness and drinkability. It is described as mellow and sweet, which I would definitely have to agree. Other noticeable notes were vanilla, nuts, spice, and caramel. 


All in all, the flight was the way to go since we couldn't decide which to get and didn't want to just have cocktails. My meal was equally amazing - I had the seaweed salad, pork gyoza, and always sunny maki. Definitely a great date night choice. We sat at the bar for prompt and friendly service and will be going back in the near future.