Nikka Pure Malt Red

It’s been a while since we’ve had a Japanese whisky. Let’s fix that. Nikka was founded back in 1934 by Masataka Taketsuru, the father of Japanese whisky. Back in 1918, Masataka-san travelled to Scotland, studied organic chemistry at the University of Glasgow, and worked apprenticeships at distilleries such as Longmorn in Speyside and Hazelburn in Campbeltown. He took everything in, and returned to Japan with meticulous notes as well as a Scottish wife, Rita.

‘Pure Malt’ refers to what we would now call a blended malt, here meaning a combination of single malts from Yoichi (on the northern island of Hokkaido), and Miyagikyo (near Sendai, founded in 1969). Of the three in this particular range, which also includes White and Black editions, the Red is the one that predominantly comes from Miyagikyo. What does that mean? It means it’s the fruity one!