Just like Yoichi is all about tradition, Miyagikyo is all about a modern approach to whisky. The use of coal is also less safe than using steam coils, as it can burn the stillman if the flame gets out of control. However, it is more labor-intensive as it requires frequently moving the coals to prevent the wash from burning inside the still. The reason for using coals is because it gives extra complexity (deep roasted flavor) and character to the spirit due to fluctuations in temperature. Scotland has moved on to more economical ways to make their whisky, with only a handful of distilleries (Glenfiddich, Glenfarclas, and Springbank) continuing to use the old school method. Yoichi is one of few distilleries in the world that still use direct fire to heat the stills through coal. A wort (sugary liquid resulting from cooking the grain) fermented for five days gives fragrant aromas of fruit to its whiskies due to the intentional growth of lactic acid bacteria in the wash. Some disctintive aspects of this distillery are: Perhaps this was Taketsuru’s gift to his wife Rita. The distillery feels like a Scottish distillery, and its whiskies reflect that style. Yoichi is famous for its hearty and smoky single malts that won them several international awards. The distillery is located on the northern island of Hokkaido, which has a similar climate to that of Scotland. Yoichi is focused on the production of single malts, while Miyagikyo focuses on the production of grain whisky. These distilleries produce complementary flavors. Nikka has two distilleries, Yoichi in the northern island of Hokkaido and Miyagikyo, in the city of Sendai, which provides a humid microclimate that is good for maturation and closer than Yoichi to major markets, like Tokyo. Today, Suntory and Nikka are rival companies, and together they have more than 50% of the market share of whisky in Japan. Shinjiro Torii and Masataka Taketsuru are considered the founding fathers of the Japanese whisky industry. The location of Yoichi in the far north provided a climate similar to that of Scotland, with cold winters and peat available for malting the barley. Torii and Taketsuru worked together until 1934 when Taketsuru decided to start his own company Nikka, and build a new distillery named Yoichi on the remote island of Hokkaido. A year later, he joined Shinjiro Torii (a former client of Settsu Shuzo and founder of Suntory) at Yamazaki distillery as head of the whisky production and created the first whisky distillery in Japan. Taketsuru continued working for the company until 1922. Unfortunately, unfavorable financial conditions did not allow Settsu Shuzo to move forward with the project. In 1920 Taketsuru moved back to Japan with detailed notes and schematics of equipment (i.e., pot stills, condensers, etc.) and a new bride, Rita Cowan, whom he met in Scotland. In April 1919, Taketsuru began his apprenticeship at Longmorn distillery in Strathspey, Scotland, continued at Bo’ness distillery in the Lowlands region, and finally in Hazelburn distillery in Campbeltown. However, in 1916 a big spirits company named Settsu Shuzo hired Taketsuru for its western liquor division, and two years later sent Taketsuru to Scotland to study the whisky production process. In the early 1900s, there was not a western liquor industry in Japan due to low taxes on imported whisky as part of a US-Japan commerce agreement established in 1858, as a result, companies in the liquor business did not have the incentive to make whisky in Japan but to focus on selling imitation whisky. Thanks to the show Nikka reported a 50% increase in domestic sales and launched a limited edition whisky for Massan viewers. In addition to the prestige of winning international whisky competitions, Nikka has successfully attracted a largely female audience since 2014 due to its famous tv drama “Massan”, which tells the story of the life of Nikka’s founder Masataka Taketsuru. ![]() World’s Best Blended Malt for TAKETSURU PURE MALT 25 YEARS OLD.
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