Demi Tastes Things

Review Date: 2021-01-22 TL;DR: A solid, middle-of-the-road flavor profile Japanese blended malt whisky. Fruity, mostly apple; floral; light wood and perfumed smoke. I went for something a bit different on this one: a bit longer with more prose. Hope you enjoy! I've tried to make it easy to skim to the important bits. Name: Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt Producer: Nikka Age: NAS Type: Japanese Blended Malt Whisky Strength:  43% ABV / 86 proof First Impressions and Presentation: (From an earlier date.) The week before Christmas, you go to the liquor store with a purpose: to buy a special bottle -- (you've already chosen it) -- to open on Christmas Eve. Halfway down the aisle, you triumphantly locate your prize. This is not the story of that bottle. This is the story of the bottle you might have missed; the bottle that caught your wife's eye on the far end of the aisle in the Japanese whisky section; the bottle that now calls out to you, "I might be something interesting, why ...

Note: I use "whiskey" here as a generic term for "whisk(e)y" without the parentheses, and I am likely to also apply this rating scale to other spirits. 100-point enjoyment scale: How much did I enjoy this whiskey? This mostly focuses on what's in the glass, ignoring price, though memories around sharing the drink with friends may have an impact, and presentation (e.g. the bottle) may have a small impact. 96+: Nectar of the Gods (1 in 50) | 90+: All Time Favorite (1 in 20) | 85+: Excellent, tremendously enjoyable | 80+: A cut above | 75+: A solid, well constructed whisky | 70+: Slightly deficient in some way | 60+: Multiple deficiencies | 50+: Poor | 30: Unenjoyable straight | 10: Shots only | 9-: Undrinkable 96-100: Nectar of the gods, extremely special. No more than 1 of every 40-50 reviews should be here 90-95: An All Time Favorite, in the top 5% of things I've ever tried 85-89: Excellent, tremendously enjoyable 80-84: Good, a cut above 75-79: ...