![]() Moving on from the history lesson, let’s dive into more details about the Miyagikyo Distillery. And while Suntory has a little more fame and production volume, Nikka is just as good. Today, Nikka remains one of Japan’s two great whisky manufacturers. Nikka From the Barrel is a famous example of this. The company uses some of that whisky in its blends. Miyagikyo went live in 1969.Īnd just a couple of years later, Nikka purchased the Ben Nevis distillery of Scotland. This large distillery would produce malt whisky, as well as grain whisky from two old-school Coffey stills. And in 1954, Asahi (the beer company) acquired Nikka, which allowed Taketsuru to focus on making the best whisky possible.Īfter a lengthy search for the right location, Taketsuru founded the Miyagikyo Distillery outside Sendai, Miyagi. The company would eventually take on Nikka as its name. And it released its first in 1940 under the brand Nikka Whisky. This Yoichi, Hokkaido facility would soon make whisky. Taketsuru went on to found the Dai Nippon Kaju, or “Great Japanese Juice Company,” in 1934. But after Yamazaki was complete, the two icons had a falling out. This was the country’s first legit whisky distillery. Suntory founder Shinjiro Torii hired Taketsuru to build the Yamazaki Distillery in Osaka. He traveled to Scotland to learn how whisky was made and came back as Japan’s leader on the subject. It’s a very smooth Scotch and costs half as much as a bottle of Miyagikyo.Īs I mentioned earlier, Masataka Taketsuru, the founder of Nikka, is the godfather of Japanese whisky. Short stills with an extended distillation time lead to a fruity and elegant flavor profile. And this single malt is notable in its complete lack of peated malt. This whisky comes from a unique distillery that straddles the border between the Highlands and the Lowlands of Scotland. The final Glen alternative to Miyagikyo is Glengoyne 10 Year. ![]() And this Speyside malt is even more affordable than Glenmorangie! They both share a Sherry cask influence and a light, fruity profile. Glen Moray “Classic” is another excellent alternative to Miyagikyo. Because Glenmorangie Original costs about half as much as Miyagikyo. ![]() ![]() The main difference is the vanilla and caramel ex-Bourbon influence of the Highlands-distilled Glenmorangie. The flavor profiles of both are similar too. The first whisky that comes to mind is Glenmorangie “Original.” Like Miyagikyo, Glenmorangie has very tall stills which produce lighter whiskies. The qualities of these whiskies are just as good. So if you’re looking for the perfect alternative to Nikka Miyagikyo, Scotch is where I recommend you look. Furthermore, the father of Japanese whisky and Nikka’s founder, Masataka Taketsuru, designed it this way. A perfectly balanced dram and a wonderful introduction to the world of Japanese whisky.The whole Japanese whisky industry is based on Scotch. The nose is fresh and lively, with a soft fruitiness from the use of sherry casks, which is joined with a touch of nuts and gentle smoke in the background. This is how he became the father of the very first Japanese whisky in 1924.Ĭarefully blended whiskies from the Yoichi and Miyagikyo distilleries make up this Taketsuru, and carries the distinctive oaky hallmark of Japanese malt whiskies. A year later, he joined the Kotobukiya group, for which he built a distillery close to Kyoto. And, following the 1922 stock market crash, he lost his job. When he returned to Japan in 1920, he realised that the project for which he had been recruited was not going to see the light of day. His dream was to create a malt distillery in Japan. He quickly became passionate about this Celtic spirit, and decided to devote his life to it. He studied at Glasgow University, also learning about the art of blending and distilling. The young Taketsuru was therefore sent to Scotland in 1919 in order to acquire the necessary technical knowledge and a minimum of experience. After training as a chemist, he was hired by an Osaka-based company, Settsu Shuzo, which was planning to produce a Japanese whisky. Masataka Taketsuru, seen as the father of Japanese whisky, was born in 1894 into a family that had been sake producers since 1733.
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