Nikka concludes Discovery range

Japanese brand Nikka has focused on the diversity of grain whisky for the third and final release in its Discovery series.

The Nikka Discovery 2023 release is a blend of grain whiskies from four of the Asahi-owned brand’s distilleries: Miyagikyo, Nishinomiya, Moji, and Satsumatsukasa. The Discovery range is an exploration of Nikka’s production process and was created ahead of the brand’s 90th anniversary in 2024. The line includes 2022 whiskies, Yoichi Single Malt Non‐Peated and Miyagikyo Single Malt Peated, and last year’s expressions, Yoichi Single Malt Aromatic Yeast and Miyagikyo Single Malt Aromatic Yeast. The 2023 whisky highlights the past and future of Nikka’s grain whisky distillation. Nikka The Grain Whisky (48% ABV) uses Coffey grain from the brand's Miyagikyo Distillery. This bottling marks the first time the brand has used grain distillates from shochu producers Moji Distillery and Satsumatsukasa Distillery. The new release uses a wide variety of grain whisky such as 'specially reserved' old Coffey grain and Coffey malt, and experimental new grain made from corn and rye. “We are excited to introduce this very special expression for the final release of our ‘Nikka Discovery’ series, a celebration of the past and future of grain whisky,” said Emiko Kaji, Nikka Whisky’s global marketing and sales general manager. “This creation is achieved by both Nikka’s tradition and innovation. Our signature Coffey stills are great assets inherited from our founder Masataka Taketsuru, who learned how to distill Coffey grain whisky in Scotland and installed the first still in 1963. “While accumulating know-how of Coffey distillation for 60 years, we have also developed distinctive new grain whiskies incorporating shochu techniques. "For this special release, we even designed the label with a four-row pattern to highlight each of the four distilleries.” Nikka The Grain Whisky was initially launched in Japan in late March and will debut in global markets from late September. There are 20,000 bottles available worldwide. In the US, it is priced at US$174.99 and only 2,600 bottles will be available. The new bottling was introduced at The Whisky Show in London on 29 September.