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Miyagikyo

Distillery
Japan
Average Rating

84.33

6 votes

Average Shop & Tour
  • 86.50
    Ambiance
  • 76.83
    Selection
  • 86.00
    Value
  • 88.00
    Service
  1. LaurensVD scored this distillery 83 points Expert Junior

    Total
    83
    Ambiance
    90
    Selection
    60
    Value
    88
    Service
    95

  2. Slàinte Mhath Plus scored this distillery 80 points Super Administrator

    After my rather disappointing trip to Yoichi in 2016, I was a bit reluctant to visit Nikka's second distillery Miyagikyo. Fortunately, things went a little better this time. Located west of Sendai, it takes about an hour by train to reach Sakunami Station. If you are traveling on a Japan Rail Pass, the distillery visit is doable on a day trip from Tokyo and can even be combined with a stop at Yamadera (highly recommended!). From the station, you can either take a bus or walk for about 20 min to reach the distillery grounds.

    It is recommended to book a tour in advance, although there is no English website available. You can also try to call them to make a reservation. The tour is free of charge and taking pictures is allowed (Look Glenlivet, distilleries do not explode in Japan!). I really liked the visitors centre with nosing samples of several Nikka whiskies, a video screen explaining their Coffey Still, and some other useful information on whisky production. You are provided with an English audio guide to follow the tour held in Japanese.

    Now I can't claim that I learned an awful lot on that tour but seeing the production site and stills was certainly interesting. Unfortunately, the Coffey Still is not included in the tour. The tasting afterwards included Miyagikyo NAS, Nikka Rare Old Super and an apple wine. Instructions on how to make a Highball were given by the staff, and most other visitors disappeared after just a few minutes. Nosing the whisky was a bit of a challenge because of their stupid ventilation system. Altogether, tour and tasting lasted for about 70 min.

    The bar offered most whiskies of the Nikka range (paid), including some of the older Taketsuru blended malts. Not sure why they poured these older malts into shot glasses, I gave up asking. Some NAS whiskies were also available at the distillery shop, for example the decently priced Miyagikyo NAS and Taketsuru Pure Malt. I picked up the Taketsuru for about 25 €. They also had some bags with miniatures and a few bottles of Scotch and bourbon.

    Not bad for a distillery visit, but not spectacular either. The side trip to Yamadera rounds off the experience, so that I can recommend both.


    Total
    80
    Ambiance
    80
    Selection
    80
    Value
    84
    Service
    76

  3. RL_whisky Plus scored this distillery 92 points Connoisseur

    About 2 km from the nearest train station, no problem walking. If you don't want to walk: there is a bus stop at the station. Tour is in Japanese, an English audio guide is available (has only basic information though). Tour takes about 30 minutes and shows you the basics.


    Tour was free and included a tasting. A bar is also available for further tasting (at a reasonable fee). The shop has multiple bottles available.

    Excellent visit. Calculate about 4 hours for the visit from Sendai (includes 2x an hour travel).
    Total
    92
    Ambiance
    88
    Selection
    90
    Value
    95
    Service
    96

  4. Cast Olila scored this distillery 88 points Connoisseur

    Total
    88
    Ambiance
    91
    Selection
    80
    Value
    90
    Service
    90

  5. GLEN MAUR Plus scored this distillery 88 points Connoisseur

    Total
    88
    Ambiance
    90
    Selection
    81
    Value
    89
    Service
    91

  6. Bachess scored this distillery 75 points Administrator

    Nice tour but only in Japanese.

    Total
    75
    Ambiance
    80
    Selection
    70
    Value
    70
    Service
    80

Distillery location

Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan

Japan

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