Nikka Days

About The Brand: Nikka

With its headquarters in Tokyo, The Nikka Whisky Distilling Co. Ltd. manufactures Japanese whiskey and other alcoholic drinks. Asahi Group Holdings owns it. The business runs many distilleries and other facilities in Japan, including two that produce Japanese whisky: the Yoichi distillery in Yoichi, Hokkaid, which was founded in 1934, and the Miyagikyo distillery in Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Northern Honsh (established in 1969). It also owns Scotland's Ben Nevis Distillery, which was bought in 1989. Masataka Taketsuru, the company's creator, went to Scotland in 1918 to see the distillation of Scotch whisky firsthand. He pursued studies in malt whiskey production at the Hazelburn distillery in Campbeltown, close to the Mull of Kintyre, and organic chemistry at the University of Glasgow under the tutelage of Prof. T. S. Patterson. In 1920, he wed Jessie Roberta 'Rita' Cowan, a Glasgow doctor's daughter, and they moved back to Japan. Before founding Nikka in 1934, he worked for Kotobukiya (now Suntory) from 1923 until helping to create a distillery. After they passed away, their adopted son Takeshi Taketsuru took over as company president and significantly increased sales.