Checking Out Nikka Coffey Gin and Vodka

 

Today I’m going to feature both gin and vodka for Spirit Week at The Minty. Last September, I attended a tasting for Nikka Coffey Gin and Vodka at Baldoria. I was curious since I love the Nikka Coffey Grain whisky (and like the Nikka Coffey Malt as well).

I loved the packaging which mimics the look of the grain and malt labels. The blue for vodka brings to mind purity, calmness and yes, vodka. While the green represents freshness to me. It’ll be easy to tell apart if you think of green as in botanicals in the gin.

 

Besides the vodka and gin, we also tasted individual components. The base of the spirits is both corn and malt.

 

We sniffed the various botanicals in the Nikka gin. Naturally there’s juniper but Nikka’s is very interesting with the use of Japanese ingredients including flat lemon and sansho pepper.

 

I also found the gin to be interesting with the higher than average ABV at 47% or 94 proof.

Besides Nikka, I noticed other Japanese gins coming onto the market. I predict there will be a Japanese gin revolution coming. Possibly in response to low whisky stocks but also a response to a general interest in gin. I see more Irish gins coming as well.

 

While we had the gin in a mixed drink, I would have loved to seen it in the bloody mary (which was made with vodka).

Actually, I did like the vodka used in the old fashioned vodka cocktail by Kevin Diedrich of Pacific Cocktail Haven who was down in LA representing the brand. The vodka is essentially their coffey grain whisky that hasn’t been aged yet so think of it as a great white whisky (white dog).

And while I was at Baldoria, I noticed they had a wonderful vintage amari collection. I’ll be back to check out their stock.

Nikka Coffey Vodka

Nikka Coffey Gin

 

Baldoria

243 S San Pedro St., Los Angeles, CA 90012  —  (213) 947-3329

 

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