He forever remains the founding father of Japanese whisky, and to this day, Taketsuru’s spirit continues to live on through the Nikka blending team, whose quest for excellence in Nikka whiskies perpetuates his memory. Masataka Taketsuru passed away just 10 years after the construction of Miyagikyo, at the age of 85. In the decades since, Nikka Whisky has become a fixture in Japan and throughout Europe, known for its passion for craftsmanship, quality and flavour. Miyagikyo distillery, in contrast to Yoichi, produces rich, fruity and elegant whiskies. Taketsuru’s growing success allowed him to establish a second distillery, Miyagikyo, in 1969 on the main island of Honshu. The Yoichi distillery produces coastal and delicately peated whiskies, supported by perfectly balanced oak maturation. This location was chosen as he had always considered it to be ideal for whisky production. In 1934, he established Nikka Whisky and built its first whisky distillery called Yoichi on the island of Hokkaido. It soon became apparent that to produce whisky the way he felt it should be made, he would have to become independent. In 1920, Taketsuru returned to Japan and joined Kotobukiya, a spirits company, to produce the first Japanese whisky. In 1918, Taketsuru travelled to Scotland, where he learnt the secrets of whisky-making and met his wife Rita who would be the source of his inspiration when creating whisky in Japan. However, it was Scotch whisky that captured the young man’s imagination and he decided to dedicate his life to it. Taketsuru was taught early that sake-making is a painstakingly fine art and he studied diligently, training as a chemist and preparing to carry on the family trade. His family owned a sake brewery that dated to 1733. Masataka Taketsuru is the father of Japanese whisky.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |