Masataka Taketsuru and the Birth of Japanese Whisky
Japanese whisky did not emerge through imitation alone. It was the result of deliberate study, cultural translation, and long-term commitment to process. At the center of this story stands Masataka Taketsuru, a chemist whose exposure to Scottish distilling practices in the early twentieth century reshaped how whisky would be understood and produced in Japan. Taketsuru’s […]
February 4, 2026