Review #122: Nikka Coffey Gin

Nikka Coffey Gin comes from the same massive Coffey stills that are used to make some of the company’s grain and malt whiskies. The gin is distilled rom a neutral corn base. Like Nikka’s Coffey Malt whisky, their gin is distilled at the company’s Miyagikyo distillery in Sendai. Coffey stills are some of the first continuous stills, which don’t need to be reloaded to continue operating.

The gin features an unusual set of botanicals, including yuzu, kabosu and amanatsu, in addition to juniper. Yuzu are small, citrus fruit that look like oranges, but taste like some… weird lime and grapefruit hybrid. I honestly have no experience with Kabosu or Amantsu. It’s nice to try something other than the same old juniper, lemon peel, and gin botanical set though.

Quick overview of our scoring system

Additional Information

• ABV: 47%
• Features amanatsu, kabosu, shikuwasa, yuzu, and sansho pepper in addition to juniper and other traditional gin botanicals.

About Nikka

• Nikka is a massive spirits company owned by Asahi (creators of Asahi Super Dry). They produce a panoply of spirits, including a few famous Japanese whiskies.
• The Miyagikyo distillery is in Sendai, north of Tokyo, in the middle of a beautiful forest.
• The distillery makes both grain and malt whiskies, now including Taketsuru.