A friend of mine passed this bottle along to me as he was moving away from Japan. A pretty good friend, I’d say. This is the old Yoichi 10- I’ve not had the 2023 restart so I won’t be comparing the two. But I did have a bottle of the No Age Statement version for a long time and really enjoyed that- so I am looking forward to diving into Yoichi once again.
Come along for a drink.
Nikka Yoichi 10 Years Old
- Distillery: Nikka (Japan)
- 45% abv / 90 proof
- Aged: 10 years
Neat
Honey-hued with brilliant golden flashes. Peppery, toffee, medium but noticeable smoke, salted ham in the aroma. Full body. Smoke hits up front but fades quickly into a team player role. Nicely sweet dark fruits, raisin, toffee, chocolate, orange blossom honey, cracked black peppery, baking spices in flavor. Finish has cinnamon and fig over light smoke. I wasn’t sure where this was going to end up but by the end of this dram I’m really loving it.
Highball
I love a Japanese whisky highball. This is a prime example of a great Japanese whisky highball. The profile is here but lengthened some to create an ultra refreshing and flavorful drink. Having said that … I woudln’t do this again with the Yoichi 10. For me, the profile of the whisky gets softened to a point where the different notes get too lost in the drink. usually, I love how the soda water lets the booze expand but here, the already delicate whisky gets lost some. Delicious as it is, I think I’d pass on this next time.
Churchill
Source: Joe Gilmore, The Savoy hotel’s American Bar
- 1.5 oz Scotch (Yoichi 10)
- 0.5 oz Lime Juice
- 0.5 oz Sweet Vermouth
- 0.5 oz Cointreau
Shake all with ice. Strain into a chilled coupe.
Good Scotch cocktails are very few and far between. The Yoichi is decidedly not Scotch but it is born from that lineage. So it makes sense that I sprang for a Scotch drink to use the Yoichi. The irony isn’t lost on me that I’m using a Japanese whisky in place of the Scotch and the whole WWII thing that Churchill was so heavily involved in all those years ago. Progress.
I don’t think I’d like this with any bolder of a Japanese whisky. As it stands, the whisky really cuts a whole in the rest of the ingredients and in some ways its profile is more intense in this drink than just neat. The smoke builds along with the cured ham, raisin, and black pepper. The other ingredients lengthen the drink but do little to temper the spirit. A fan of Scotch cocktails would be a fan of the Yoichi in this drink- but as an overall rule I am not a fan of Scotch cocktails and there for this drink just isn’t my speed. Still, the Yoichi works here in place of the Scotch … if that’s what you’re looking for.
The Last Sip
I’ve become a fan of Nikka. Both he NAS and this, the old Yoichi 10 Year bottling are great sips. While I don’t think this works well in a cocktail as laid out above, a simple half rock would do well with this lovely whisky. Or, ya know, simply drinking neat. Having this on hand for those Japanese whisky cravings is definitely a good idea.
Tuesday Pints 