Winemaker
Masataka Taketsuru
Founder, Nikka Whisky Distilling
- Discipline
- Winemaker
Portrait of Masataka Taketsuru
i. Biography
Masataka Taketsuru was the Japanese chemist and whisky maker who founded Nikka Whisky Distilling in 1934 and established its first distillery at Yoichi, Hokkaido. Nikka’s official history and distillery pages identify him as the company’s founder and state that he chose Miyagikyo as the site for Nikka’s second distillery in 1969 to create a whisky distinct from Yoichi. He is widely described by Nikka as the father of Japanese whisky, and the company’s current Taketsuru-branded blend is built around malts from Yoichi and Miyagikyo.
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Read about winemakers like Masataka Taketsuru in the Sunday email.
Every Sunday we send a lead story and up to four more about the chefs, winemakers, sommeliers and hoteliers behind the restaurants, bars, wineries and hotels we cover.
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