Japanese Whisky: The Story of How Japan Perfected Scotland's Greatest Invention

In 1918, a 24-year-old chemistry student named Masataka Taketsuru sailed from Japan to Scotland on a mission assigned by the Settsu Brewery company: to learn how to make Scotch whisky and bring that knowledge home. He enrolled in organic chemistry at Glasgow University, then apprenticed at the Longmorn, Hazelburn, and Bo'ness distilleries in succession — learning cooperage, distillation, and blending with the rigour of a scientist and the dedication of a craftsman. He also married a Scottish woman, Rita Cowan, who would return with him to Japan and whose family the Nikka Whisky brand would later honour. Reference: nikka.com

When Taketsuru returned to Japan in 1921, he joined Shinjiro Torii's nascent spirits company — which would become Suntory (suntory.com) — and in 1923 oversaw the construction of Japan's first malt whisky distillery at Yamazaki, in the hills between Kyoto and Osaka. The site was chosen for the quality of its water and the mist of its valley, which Torii believed would contribute to a distinctive character in the maturing spirit. He was right: Yamazaki malt, aged in a combination of ex-Sherry, ex-Bourbon, and Japanese Mizunara oak casks, developed a flavour profile — rich, fruity, floral, with a distinctive sandalwood and incense note from the Mizunara — that was unlike any Scotch.

**The Great Distilleries**

Yamazaki (Osaka): Suntory's flagship distillery, now offering visitor experiences and a museum at its historic 1923 site (suntory.com/factory/yamazaki). The Yamazaki 12 Year Old is the entry point to the range — elegant, fruity, with gentle Sherry influence; the Yamazaki 18 Year Old (when available) is considered one of the finest single malts in the world, combining decades of Mizunara, Sherry, and Bourbon cask maturation into a whisky of extraordinary complexity. The Yamazaki 25 Year Old, released in vanishingly small quantities, commands prices at auction exceeding $3,000/bottle.

Hakushu (Yamanashi): Suntory's mountain distillery, built in 1973 in the Southern Japanese Alps at 700m elevation — the highest whisky distillery in Japan. The Hakushu 12 produces a distinctly different character from Yamazaki: lighter, more herbal, with a fresh mineral quality from the Alpine water and a hint of gentle smoke. The Hakushu 18 and 25 are extraordinarily rare.

Yoichi and Miyagikyo (Nikka): After leaving Suntory in 1934, Masataka Taketsuru founded his own distillery at Yoichi in Hokkaido — choosing the location for its similarity to the Scottish Highlands climate — and a second, Miyagikyo, in the mountains of Miyagi Prefecture in 1969. The two distilleries produce complementary characters: Yoichi is heavy, peated, and structured; Miyagikyo is lighter, fruiter, and more delicate. Blended together as Nikka From the Barrel — a full-proof (51.4% ABV) blended malt of exceptional quality and remarkable value — they produce what many consider the finest everyday whisky available anywhere in the world.

Chichibu (Saitama): Founded in 2008 by Ichiro Akuto — grandson of a legendary pre-war distiller — Chichibu is the most celebrated of Japan's newer generation of craft distilleries, producing small-batch single malts of exceptional quality. The annual Ichiro's Malt releases are among the most sought-after whisky collectibles in the world. Reference: one-drinks.com/chichibu

Mars Shinshu and Karuizawa: Mars Shinshu in Nagano, operated by Hombo Shuzo (hombo.co.jp), is Japan's highest distillery at 798m. Karuizawa — a distillery that closed in 2000 — has become the most valuable collector's whisky in Japan, with bottles from the final decades of production selling for tens of thousands of dollars at auction.

**The Mizunara Factor**

Japanese Mizunara oak (Quercus mongolica) is the unique ingredient in Japanese whisky that no other whisky-producing nation can replicate. Mizunara grows slowly in Hokkaido and is notoriously difficult to work with — leaky, prone to cracking, requiring decades to produce usable staves — but it imparts a flavour profile of sandalwood, incense, coconut, and vanilla that has become the most prized characteristic of aged Japanese whisky. Casks aged 10+ years in Mizunara produce whisky of almost otherworldly complexity.

**How to Experience It**

The Bar High Five (barhighfive.com) in Ginza, Tokyo — operated by master bartender Hidetsugu Ueno — is considered the finest whisky bar in Japan, with a collection of rare expressions that represents the full history of Japanese whisky production. The Yamazaki Distillery visitor experience (advance booking required at suntory.com) is among the finest distillery tours in the world.