Vodka Nikka Coffey: review and tasting notes
The Nikka Coffey Vodka is a delicate and elegant distillate, produced by the legendary Nikka distillery, author of historical Japanese whiskeys such as Whiskey Coffey Malt Nikka and Nikka Whisky from the Barrel.
Like all Japanese spirits, as soon as you taste it immediately strikes for its balance, general harmony, the finesse of the line, the alcoholic thickness given by a delicious peppery vivacity and excellent persistence. But to the detriment of the care and all the Zen love that the Japanese can instill in each of their spirits, there is always vodka and therefore you cannot expect the moon. There are not millions of perfumes or epiphanic suggestions produced by botanicals or extravagant ingredients. It is a very solid and particularly fine distillate, but going beyond it is a difficult undertaking.
So why should you buy this Nikka Coffey vodka? It can be drunk neat or better to mix to make great cocktails like Moscow Mule and Sex on the Beach.
However, what you can do is compare it to competing vodkas to understand if the outlay of 37-40 euros is justified compared to other bottles. We assume that if you have local and bartender ambitions it is a stylish and precise vodka that deserves all your money and your love: it is solid and credible, even as alcohol does not disappoint and is not easily mortified by rough and overbearing ingredients. So from a purely professional point of view, it is an incredible, flawless vodka, especially for more fruity cocktails with juices, but also for a Negroski on the road it is not bad.
Organoleptic characteristics of Nikka Coffey vodka
Its secret is precision, compactness: rarely does a vodka show so much aromatic delicacy, the taste for detail, such sharp but well-designed edges. The nose is algid and pungent, peppery, with clear scents of biscuit and malt, flowers, basil and aromatic herbs, and a touch of white pepper. The bouquet is very delicate, just whispered, but the beauty of this vodka lies in the small details that create a miniature where every stroke is impeccably traced.
On the palate, it is full-bodied, warm, enveloping and vigorous. Not too deep as flavor, but it has rhythm and structure.
How is Nikka Coffey vodka made?
The cereals from which we start are maize and malt, which are ground, fermented and then distilled in the legendary Coffey column still (in business since 1963), the one also used for Nikka’s whiskeys. It is then obviously filtered through activated carbon to make it “pure” and reach an acceptable degree of “neutrality”. Once again Nikka shows us how the much-maligned Coffey still manages to distill in a very respectful way, enhancing even the most fragile and difficult aromas to capture during distillation. But if we consider that Nikka has only recently started churning out gin and vodka, such an intriguing product should worry competitors, especially Gray Goose, Beluga, Belvedere, Ciroc and Purity.
Nikka Coffey vodka price
38-40 euros: an acceptable price for an excellent vodka, which brings a breath of fresh air scented with cherry blossoms to the merciless world of vodka. Perhaps it costs a few euros more than the competitors mentioned above, but as a finesse it is superior and 3 euros more are willingly spent.
Cocktail to make with Nikka Coffey vodka
All, its innate finesse and thickness make it perfect for any type of cocktail, from the most spartan like Vodka Sour, Espresso Martini, White Russian, Moscow Mule, Cosmopolitan, Vodka Tonic, Kamikaze, Sex on the beach, Screwdriver, Bloody Mary, Caipiroska, Black Russian.