Miyagikyo Distillery (Nikka)

Question 1

Where and when did Takesuru start Nikka’s second Malt Distillery?

Answer 1

-Taketsuru wanted a different environment for second malt distillery designed to give more complexity to blends
-Started looking on north of main island
-On May 12, 1967 son Takeshi took Masataka to a site near Sendai - in Miyagi prefecture
-Taketsuru took some Black Nikka and sample from the Nikkawa River and knew they had the right spot
-Construction started in 1968 and was completed in May 1969

Question 2

What was the second malt distillery initially called?

Answer 2

-Sendai, name was changed to Miyagikyo in 2001

Question 3

Mash tun at Miyagikyo

Answer 3

2 stainless steel full lauter

Question 4

Washbacks at Miyagikyo

Answer 4

22 stainless steel (temperature controlled)

Question 5

Still configuration at Miyagikyo

Answer 5

-4 pairs
-Indirect heated (steam)
-with ascending lyne arms and shell & tube condensers
-stills much smaller than Yoichi
-Very tall so high copper contact, and boil balls so more refulx
-much lighter spirit than Yoichi

Question 6

What are peating levels at Miyagikyo?

Answer 6

-Like Yoichi, different peating levels
-But Miyagikyo focuses on more non-peated and lightly peated
-Most barley comes from Scotland

Question 7

Fermentation at Miyagikyo?

Answer 7

-Water drawn down from Nikkawa river
-Clear wort is pumped into temperature controlled. stainless steel washbacks
-various types of yeast (mostly distiller’s yeast) are used
-Fermentation time is three days

Question 8

Maturation for spirit from Miyagikyo

Answer 8

-all matured on site
-up until 1986 new make filled into wood at 65% abv
-since then, filled at 63%
-26 warehouses

Question 9

When was Miyagikyo grain distillery built?

Answer 9

-In 1989 liquor tax laws changed, sales dropped considerably
-Closed Nishinomiya bottling plant in April 1992
-in June 1997 decision was made to move grain whisky equipment to different facility.
-Obvious choice was Miyagikyo

Question 10

What is the main ingredient in Coffey Grain Whisky made at Miyagikyo?

Answer 10

-Corn from the US + small amount of 2 row barley
-distilled to about 94% abv
-lowered to 63% abv before barrel entry

Question 11

Origin of Coffee Malt?

Answer 11

-At some point in the 1970s Nikka came up with idea of distilling malted barley in their Coffey stills
-Stand alone product “Nikka Coffey Malt” since 2014

Question 12

Coffey distillation at Miyagikyo

Answer 12

-Same design from 1969 (Takesuru’s love of tradition)
-Five styles are made
light
medium
heavy
heavier
super heavy
2 from malted barley, the rest corn

Question 13

how are the 5 different styles of Nikka Coffey distillate created?

Answer 13

-Different weights are obtained by varying yeast strains
+collecting from different points in the rectifying column