Taketsuru

Another component of the distinctive aroma is the harsh, humid climate in Yoichi, which Taketsuru compared with Scotland and saw as a perfect location for his distillery. Nikka Whisky offers a variety of different whiskys ranging from single malt to single grain to blended whisky. Defining the taste and classic of the Nikka Taketsuru whisky, the Yoichi single malt, which belong to the world class with their complexity. These mature between ten and twenty years and are rich in oak notes. Another highlight and particularly popular in Europe are the Pure Malt Whisky from Yoichi and Miyagikyo, which ripen between twelve to 25 years and have been awarded several times as the world's best blended malt, such as the Pure Malt 21 Years, the four titles in six years could claim for themselves.

The story of Nikka Taketsuru whisky

In 1943, the Nikka Taketsuru whisky distillery was founded on the island of Hokkaido in northern Japan. Located in the city Yoichi the distillery produces since that time the well-known whisky, which defined since that time the Japanese market with its flavor. The distillery was founded by the Japanese Masataka Taketsuru, who learned the necessary craft in Scotland.

Nikka Taketsuru Whisky has a multi-layered, complex flavor that earned the Yoichi 20 Year Old 2008 the title of World's Best Single Malt at the World Whisky Awards.

Masataka Taketsuru was born in 1894 near Hiroshima into a family that had been operating a sake brewery since 1733. At a young age his family came in contact with the American Matthew Perry and through this with whisky. The idea for their own whisky came Taketsuru due to a possibility of the company Settsu Shuzo, which commissioned him with the production of the first authentic Japanese whisky. Until then, distilleries in the country were unable to make the drink with rice or corn, and Taketsuru then traveled to Scotland to learn the traditional distillery craft from 1918 to 1920. In Scotland, he met his future wife and muse, Rita Cowan, with whom he traveled to Japan in 1920. After a move from Settsu Shuzo to the later Suntory he built in 1924 the first whisky distillery in Japan and ten years later, in 1934, he founded Nikka as a producer of fruit juices. Until 1943, yoichi processed hokkaido apples into juices and then used them to make the Nikka Taketsuru whisky. In 1952, Taketsuru renamed his company Nikka Whisky and, due to its great success in 1969, opened a second distillery, Miyagikyo, on the main island of Honshu. Among other distilleries in Japan, the Ben Nevis distillery in Fort William, Scotland, is a producer and specializes in traditional Scottish whisky.

Summary

This Pure Malt Blend is named after the founder of the Nikka distillery Masataka Taketsuru. Taketsuru was the founder of the Japanese whisky industry in the early 20th century.

This exceptional blend is made only from malt whiskys from the Yoichi and Miyagikyo distilleries and has been awarded several times as the best blended malt whisky in the world.