Nikka Pure Malt Black Bottle 500ml Japanese Whiskey

Capacity: 500ml
Alcohol content: 43%

Japanese whiskey Nikka Pure Malt Black mainly comes from the whiskey of Yoichi Distillery. Yoichi Distillery produces whiskey that is "rich, peated and masculine," and the distillery's whiskey gets its unique flavor and aroma from the use of "carefully selected natural coals" to heat the stills.

Nikka Distillery is one of Japan's flagship whiskey producers and one of the first whiskey producers in the country. Their history is long and fascinating and worth a glimpse. The company was founded in 1934 with small-scale whiskey production on Japan's northernmost island, far away from most major cities. Despite the many difficulties encountered in bringing foreign spirits into the country, they are still producing whiskey nearly 100 years later.

It was not until the early 20th century that whiskey production began in Japan. Masataka Taketsuru, the founder of Nikka Distillery, met and married his Scottish wife Jesse (Rita) Cohen when they moved into their home in 1918. He learned the art of whiskey making in Glasgow and later brought these talents back to Japan. Taketsuru helped establish Japan's first whiskey factory, Suntory, and opened his own distillery in Yoichi, Japan, in 1934.

A BBC article explains the importance of his wife Jessie (Rita) to his success. She provided financial and emotional support while adjusting to Japanese culture, language and traditions, which was even more difficult for a British woman living in Japan during World War II. Astonishingly, her own adopted daughter harbored a grudge because of her Scottish heritage and, even more outrageously, she was accused of being a spy because there was an antenna on the roof of their home. There is a Japanese TV series about them "Azheng and Aili" (Massan). The drama, which aired in 2014, tells the story of Taketsuru and Rita's hardships in opening a Nikka during a turbulent period in history.