If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Robb Report may receive an affiliate commission. Japan’s second biggest whisky company, Nikka , is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. So to commemorate the occasion, they just announced the details of an extremely limited-edition blended whisky that includes liquid that was distilled over the past nine decades, including 80-year-old single malt that dates back to the 1940s.
I had a chance to visit Yoichi , one of Nikka ‘s two main distilleries (the other is Miyagikyo ), this spring. Yoichi is located in the north of Japan on the island of Hokkaido, and even in mid-April there was snow piled on the ground from a recent storm, adding to the 90-year-old distillery’s already scenic atmosphere. While much has been modernized over the course of nearly a century, there are elements that remain the same: The stills continue to be fired with coal (perhaps not the most environmentally friendly fuel, it should be noted), and the signature red pagodas still line the grounds.
Founder Masataka Taketsuru’s restored house sits in the midst of the distillery, the home that he shared with his Scottish wife Rita to oversee the whisky making operations. Taketsuru founded Nikka in 1934 after studying in Scotland and working at several distilleries there, ultimately bringing his craft back to Japan to launch the whisky industry—starting with building the Yamazaki distillery for Suntory . .
