Masataka Taketsuru was born in 1894 into a sake distilling family that resided in Hiroshima. In 1918, the young Taketsuru embarked on a trip to Scotland to learn about the process of making Scotch whisky. He was fascinated by whisky and was excited to learn more. He enrolled at the University of Glasgow, taking chemistry classes. He also apprenticed at multiple distilleries. These distilleries include Longmorn, Hazelburn, and James Calder.

Taketsuru met and married a Scottish woman named Rita, and in late 1920 the couple returned to Japan. In 1923 he signed a 10-year contract with Kotobukiya Limited (Suntory). This position saw him direct in the construction of Yamazaki, the first whisky distillery in Japan, and subsequently, become involved in the production of Yamazaki whisky.
Taketsuru left Kotobukiya in March 1934, and later in the year established his own company: Dai Nippon Kaju Co,. Limited (later Nikka). The company was based in Yoichi in Hokkaido. Yoichi Distillery started distillation in 1936. In 1940 the first Nikka Whisky was launched.

 In this particular evening Nathan Shearer will be taking you through the history of Nikka and the different expressions that characterises the distillery.

Nikka Super
Nikka Coffey Grain
Nikka Miyagikio
Nikka Yoichi
Nikka Taketsuru
Nikka Tailored

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