Nikka miyagikyo distillery

Furthermore, it was Masataka Taketsuru who laid the foundation for Japanese whiskey. In addition, he traveled to Scotland in 1918 and learned the art of whiskey making there. Moreover, he realized that Japan’s geographical location and climatic conditions were similar to those in Scotland and determinedly pursued his idea of ​​a Japanese whiskey industry.

After his return, he worked in a small distillery until 1934, from which today’s Suntory emerged. Since he wanted to release his own whiskeys, he began building the Yoichi distillery, which is now the headquarters of Nikka Whiskey Distilling Co. Ltd. is. The first whiskey flowed there in 1940 and the second distillery, the Miyagikyo distillery, was built in 1969. In addition, the Ben Nevis distillery in Scotland was bought in 1989 in order to acquire market share and knowledge there too.

The Asahi company acquired shares in Nikka back in 1954 and today Nikka is a subsidiary of this huge brewery group. In its two Japanese distilleries, Nikka produces various single malts such as Yoichi or Miyagikyo but also a lot of blended whiskeys such as “From the Barrel” or “Tailored”. Unlike in Scotland, for the Japanese it is not the single malt, but the blend that represents the perfection of whiskey production.

In addition, Japanese blended whiskeys are not just made, they are composed. And, over a long period of time and various selection processes, the master blenders here create blends that are unrivaled in the world and are highly respected among whiskey connoisseurs.