Page 42 - Beverage Master_OctNov 2021

International News

whisky made the top five. Since then, Japanese This area seemed, to him, to most closely repli-
whiskies have continued to bag metal at competi- cate the Scottish landscape. Japan’s “whisky coun-
tions across the globe (in fact, they were garnering try” however, is less differentiated than those of
“best of” accolades as far back as 2008). If there’s Scotland.
any consolation to the Scottish distillers now add-
ing tears rather than water to their tipples, it’s that, “Although Japan may look like a small island
had it not been for the Scots, the Japanese would on the map, if you compare it with the map of
likely not be where they are today in terms of dis- Scotland at the same scale, you will notice that
tilling. the nation is much larger and is spread from North
to South,” notes Naoki Tomoyoshi, International
Japan has a distilling history that may reach as Business Development Representative for Nikka
far back as the 1700s. Yet it wasn’t until after the Whisky. “The climate can vary from the famous
Second World War that Shinjiro Torii along with skiing resorts in Hokkaido to the beautiful beaches
Masataka Taketsuru, established the Yamazaki of Okinawa. Within this country, Nikka’s founder
Distillery, which would eventually become Suntory, Masataka Taketsuru headed north in search for
near Kyoto. In 1918, Taketsuru journeyed to the ideal place for his whisky. He found the land
Scotland. He enrolled in the University of Glasgow, of Yoichi to be the perfect place, a seaside loca-
becoming the first Japanese person to study the art tion with a cool and humid climate along with an
of whisky making and apprenticed at a number of ideal water source. Then, in 1969, he founded his
famous Scottish malt distilleries before bringing his second distillery, Miyagikyo Distillery, in the moun-
knowledge (and a wife) back to Japan. tainous valleys of Miyagi Prefecture, located in
the northern part of Japan’s main island. His aim
In 1934, Taketsuru branched out on his own, was to create a different style of whisky than that
establishing the Nikka Whisky company with a dis- of Yoichi Distillery. The surrounding environment
tillery located in Yoichi, on the island of Hokkaido, plays an important role in the maturation process,
in the northern part of the country. and when that is combined with the different

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