::: Japanese whiskies :::
:: An introduction to the whiskies of Japan ::
The Japanese whisky industry was pioneered in the 1920s by Shinjiro Torii, the founder of Suntory; and Masataka Taketsuru, the founder of Nikka. Torii established Japan's first whisky distillery in 1923, Yamazaki. Taketsuru was employed as the distiller at Yamazaki, but left to establish the Yoichi Distillery and later founded Nikka, rival company to Suntory.
Japan is now the world's second largest producer of single malt whisky.
The majority of Japanese whisky is produced by three large companies: Kirin, Nikka, and Suntory.
Unlike many whisky distilleries around the globe that focus on a particular style - most Japanese whisky distilleries produce a vast range of styles. This allows them to blend different malts from their own distillery to craft their product offerings, rather than sourcing malts from rival distilleries. This includes producing peated and unpeated whiskies and maturating whiskies in a range of cask types.