I’ve longed considered myself a vodka girl — that is, until I warmed my lips with the toasty, bold flavor of Nikka Whisky at Yoichi Distillery on Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island.
I’ll credit my newfound love of this libation to Masataka Taketsuru, who solidified a place for Japanese whisky in a land better known for sake (Japanese rice wine) in the first half of the 20th century.
In fact, somewhat ironically, Taketsuru (now known as the “father of Japanese whisky”) was the son of a sake brewer. He left Japan for Scotland in his early 20s and studied the art of single-malt whisky distillation. In Scotland, he fell in love with Jessie Roberta “Rita” Cowan, who he married and moved back to Japan with in 1920.
According to my tour guide, the couple lived on-site at the Yoichi factory on Hokkaido — a perfect location for a whisky distillery due to its colder climate and a humidity level that closely resembles that of Scotland.
In addition to the company’s cute backstory, a tour of Yoichi Distillery includes valuable information on the process of traditional coal-fired distillation — an uncommon practice in today’s whisky-making processes due to difficulties in controlling the pots’ temperature — and finishes with a complimentary flight of spirits. My flight included Super Nikka (a blended whisky that Taketsuru created for Cowan shortly after her death); Yoichi Singlemalt (which mirrors the characteristics of Taketsuru’s first product back in the 1930s); and an apple wine.
Tours last 70 minutes and take place daily from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 to 3:30 p.m. Although the tours are complimentary, they are conducted only in Japanese; English-speaking clients will need a translator.
The Details
Nikka Whisky Yoichi Distillery
www.nikka.com
