Opening Remarks : Tasting notes from the inaugural meeting of the local whisky club. The night predominantly featured Japanese Whiskies and Bourbons— 17 different bottles in total, none of which are available locally. Though I only tried a fraction of them, a few unfortunate souls paid dearly the next day for their attempt to sample the entire range.

Whisky : Nikka Black Extra Sherry

Country/Region : Japan/Blend

ABV : 43%

Cask : Ex-Sherry/Bourbon

Nose : Pleasant wood spice and sandstone along with slightly strange vegetable fat and soap. Reminds me of the smell of hot wood from a dry sauna next door to where I am washing up with an unscented bar of soap.

Palate : Sweetness of red beats, apple juice, and carrot juice which still carry an odd soap note. There is something a tad bit salty there sort of like dried shrimp or fish sauce.

Finish : Quick and medicinally sweet— artificially flavored cough syrup sweet.

Score : 2

Whisky : Nikka Black Extra Sweet

Country/Region : Japan/Blend

ABV : 46%

Cask : Ex-Sherry/Bourbon

Nose : A baked blondie bar with bits of sticky toffee. There is some wood spice, nice gingerbread, molasses and cloves, however there is also a bit of harsh alcohol burn.

Palate : Mild woodspice and a rich artificial sweetness akin to sweet tea that’s had a lot of splenda or sweet and low added to it. I get an odd vegetable soap note in this one as well, reminds me a bit of unscented soap and sweet potato, as if you left both in your car on a hot day— this has an element of the aroma you might return to.

Finish : Medium length sweet iced ginger bread.

Score : 2

Notes : Here we have two bottles from Nikka’s new “Black Extra [word]” lineup. Let me begin by saying these bottles are clearly designed to be used in cocktails or at least highballs, so I feel a little unfair reviewing them as if they were a scotch you would drink neat. I think they both have some interesting flavor notes that would work well with just a bit of soda water and a twist of lemon or lime or in something a bit fancier. They have enough alcohol bite and sweetness that they would not be too easily lost in a drink.

As blends that one might sip on, they are both pretty weak and not something I would ever naturally turn to— they are neither particularly really rich in sherry notes, nor very sweet in a pleasing manner. It might be surprising to read that I still thought they were much better than I expected— but then, I went in with the lowest possible expectations for these NAS limited edition bottles. They are designed to be mass market for domestic consumption and I did not really picture them being blends that would match my preferred flavor profiles. They were certainly palatable enough that if someone offered me a dram, I would not turn it down. They were not good enough that I would go seek them out though.