Miyagikyo Grande Review

Shelf Review
Designed to give you all the quick hit information you need when you’re standing in front of your local liquor store’s whisky shelf.

Nikka Whisky company is probably best known for having two distinctive distilleries – each with its own distinct characteristics and flavors profiles. High in the northern region of Japan lies Yoichi; known for its salty, peaty, and more fiery personality. Further to the south lies Miyagikyo; known for its sweeter, woodier, and more subtle flavor profiles. Nikka deftly blends these two personalities together in most of their releases, but also produces single malts of each as part of their core range.

Today, we dive into a special Miyagikyo. This expression is a travel retail exclusive, only available in select airports in Japan. Known as Miyagikyo Grande, this features a slightly higher 48% ABV, non-chill filtration, and more extensive use of sherry casks in its composition when compared to the standard Miyagikyo Single Malt release. Retailing for around 10,000 yen, is this worth the buy? Let’s jump in and find out.

Age: Non-Age Started

ABV: 48%

Cask: Variety of casks

MSRP: $75

Distillery Name: Nikka distillery

Review Date: 2/2/23

Nose: Young, zesty and vibrant. Floral, sweet vanilla mixed with honey suckle and marzipan. A much bigger sherry influence, with a sugary sweet cream, and some light raisin and grape notes. Approachable and bright – a much improved nose compared to the standard release.

Palate: Baked pastry, almond, black pepper, and a burst of citrus zest. Bready quality reminiscent of apple pie and sweet bread. Milk chocolate and buttery shortbread. Excellent mouthfeel, creamy and rich.

Finish: Medium length finish that clings to the mouth. More pastry dough and honey mixed with a gentle woodiness.

Score: 88 

Would I buy again?  This bottle of Miyagikyo Grande surprised me. After I got past the silly name, it delivered a richer, deeper, and more complex sip than the standard Miyagikyo release. It’s well rounded, with a sweeter, more robust character than many other Japanese whiskies at this price point. The heavier use of sherry barrels made a sweeter, more complex palate that overcame its youthful age to turn this into an instantly crushable whisky. The longer I sipped, the better it became. The 48% ABV and non-chill filtration certainly helped the mouthfeel, which was excellent and rewarding. In today’s age, it’s hard to call anything in Japanese whisky a good deal. This is the exception. I’d happily pick up another bottle of this next time I’m in Japan.