Nikka Yoichi Single Malt

Nikka Whisky was founded in 1934 by Masataka Taketsura. Born into a family of sake brewers hs path into whisky distilling came via a chemistry degree in Glasgow followed by apprenticeships at Scotch Whisky distilleries in the years following the First World War. After his marriage to a Scottish lass, Rita Cowan, the couple moved back to his home country after which he decided to bring whisky distilling to Japan. The company's first distillery was built in the northern island of Hokkaido in the coastal town of Yoichi to the west of Sapporo. Despite its remote location it was an area well suited to whisky production. With expansion over the years a second distillery (the Miyagikyo Distillery) was added near the city of Sendai in the north of Honshu. Asahi Breweries acquired Nikka in 2001 since when Japanese whiskies, as a whole, have seen a huge rise in popularity across the world and has led to significant further expansion of the their production facilties to cope with demand.