The History of Japanese Whisky

As Scotch whisky conquered the world in the second half of the 19th century, its success naturally whetted appetites, and other nations also wanted to distil their own whisky. Foremost among them were the Japanese. Two men played a special role in this, ushering in the history of Japanese whisky.

Two significant gentlemen shape Japanese whisky

One of these two gentlemen set off for Scotland in 1918 to unravel the secrets of whisky right at the source. Masataka Taketsuru was driven by the idea of getting to the bottom of the spirit of Scotch. He was the scion of a great sake dynasty. His family had been producing spirits for many generations. At the age of 24, he travelled to Glasgow to continue his studies and investigate Scotch whisky.

Whisky Pioneer Taketsuru

Besides his studies, Taketsuru visited three distilleries until 1920. He made a stop at Longmorn Distillery, at Hazelbourne Distillery, and finally, most recently, at Bo'ness Distillery. He learned everything important about handling barley, distillation, and finally about the sophisticated art of blending whiskies.

Taketsuru sets about systematically writing down the newly acquired knowledge, recording all the impressions from his journey. He soaks up all the information like a dry sponge. Within two years, the Japanese man has learned so much about Scotch whisky that he can return to his homeland with a clear conscience to usher in the age and lay the foundation for the history of Japanese whisky.