Nihon
Friday night some friends and I checked out Nihon, the new whiskey bar and Japanese restaurant opened by the Dajani Group, who also own Bar 821, Tsunami Sushi and Sake Lounge, and Cafe Abir in the Western Addition. Their first full-liquor license venue specializes in two things: Izakaya-style Japanese food and whiskey. They have over 100 whiskeys on the menu, most of them Scotch single-malts. I have a feeling I'll be working my way through this menu of this small venue- I love a good drinking project.
I started with the mixed drinks. First I tried the Apple Mack, which is a whiskey-based cocktail with apple and cinnamon flavors in it, served up in a martini glass. It's fantastic- one of the best whiskey-based drinks I've tried. It's sweet without being oversweet (so you could drink a few of them without getting the cosmopolitan sugar headache) and tastes deceptively unlike an alcoholic drink at all.
I then tried the Macallan Royale, a take on the Manhattan and one of their advertised signature drinks. It's Macallan 12 year-old Scotch with sweet vermouth and Campari. I didn't like this one at all- I felt the Campari overwhelmed the Scotch and replaced the long, buttery tail of the Macallan with a pang of dry herbal/medicinal Campari. This drink could have benefited from a harsher whiskey or bourbon of a regular Manhattan, where the vermouth and Campari would add new flavors to the heavy whiskey rather than cut out the subtlety of this already-smooth Scotch.
Finally, I tried one of the two Japanese whiskeys on the menu. (We realized later that we hadn't seen Suntory on the menu, which is odd because they made it one of their selling features when I wrote a preview of this bar for San Francisco Magazine.) Both the Japanese selections were Yamazaki, in two different years. I had the younger one. It tasted like a regular Scotch (as it should. Japanese whiskeys are the most similar to Scotch whiskeys) with both smoky/peaty flavors and a fruity-toffee flavors. The only thing that differed from some of the similar Scotches is that you first taste the fruity flavors and the tail was filled with peat smoke, whereas they usually come in the other order.
Long story short- go to Nihon before it becomes too popular, and make sure to try the Apple Mack.
I started with the mixed drinks. First I tried the Apple Mack, which is a whiskey-based cocktail with apple and cinnamon flavors in it, served up in a martini glass. It's fantastic- one of the best whiskey-based drinks I've tried. It's sweet without being oversweet (so you could drink a few of them without getting the cosmopolitan sugar headache) and tastes deceptively unlike an alcoholic drink at all.
I then tried the Macallan Royale, a take on the Manhattan and one of their advertised signature drinks. It's Macallan 12 year-old Scotch with sweet vermouth and Campari. I didn't like this one at all- I felt the Campari overwhelmed the Scotch and replaced the long, buttery tail of the Macallan with a pang of dry herbal/medicinal Campari. This drink could have benefited from a harsher whiskey or bourbon of a regular Manhattan, where the vermouth and Campari would add new flavors to the heavy whiskey rather than cut out the subtlety of this already-smooth Scotch.
Finally, I tried one of the two Japanese whiskeys on the menu. (We realized later that we hadn't seen Suntory on the menu, which is odd because they made it one of their selling features when I wrote a preview of this bar for San Francisco Magazine.) Both the Japanese selections were Yamazaki, in two different years. I had the younger one. It tasted like a regular Scotch (as it should. Japanese whiskeys are the most similar to Scotch whiskeys) with both smoky/peaty flavors and a fruity-toffee flavors. The only thing that differed from some of the similar Scotches is that you first taste the fruity flavors and the tail was filled with peat smoke, whereas they usually come in the other order.
Long story short- go to Nihon before it becomes too popular, and make sure to try the Apple Mack.
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