Nikka 12 Year Old Japanese Whisky 700ml

In an industry where brands can (and often do) combine malts from Scotland, Master Blender, Tadashi Sakuma forgoes input from the Nikka owned Ben Nevis distillery, creating an assemblage that honours all that's great about Japanese blends – or blended whisky full stop. Deftly balancing Miyagikyo (light & elegant) and Yoichi (more robust) pot still malts with a judicious splash of sweet Coffey grain, from the very first sniff, you can tell you're onto something special.

Launched in 2014 as a national exclusive to celebrate Nikka’s 80th anniversary, as one of the few affordable Japanese age statements to emerge in years, this will grab the attention of drinkers as much as collectors, offering a compelling alternative to Suntory's equivalent: If you buy Hibiki 12 year old at $700 but ignore this, frankly, we don’t know what to say.