Japan

Swans welcome us on a small lake in the centre of the distillery as we discover the brand new visitor centre. At Miyagikyo, nature appears to have reclaimed the land. And it was also for the natural environment that Taketsuru chose the site, in particular for the purity of the water from the Nikkawa river. Surprisingly, the name is pure coincidence, and «kawa» simply means «river» in Japanese. We pass in front of a nameless building which is home to the distillery’s two famous Coffey stills. Imported to Japan in the 1960s, they were originally used at another site, in Nishinomiya, before being installed in Miyagikyo in 1999. From the outside, you would never guess that all of Nikka’s grain whiskies – the base for all of their blends – are produced under this one roof! The single malts are distilled in another building a little further way, where its large copper pot stills are housed. Unlike Yoichi, everything is designed to produce a delicate and fruity eau-de-vie. These imposing steam-heated stills encourage extraction of the lightest compounds. This produces a completely different style of spirit from Yoichi. When he was the master blender, Taketsuru decided to produce two completely contrasting single malts so that he could create the most complex blends possible.

It is here, in Kagoshima, that we find Tsunuki, built on the ashes of a former shochu distillery. Tatsuro Kusano, the young master distillery, greets us at the door. At just 29 years of age, he has been put in charge of the distillery, which opened in 2016. He is incredibly passionate about his work and it is with rare enthusiasm that he shows us around the grounds. This comes as no surprise, however, as Tsunuki and all of its brand new equipment represent an incredible playground, and few distillers enjoy the same freedom as Kusano, whose only remit is to produce the best whisky possible. His daily work therefore involves continually testing new methods. The barley used is the same as at Shinshu. There are four types, divided into their level of peating, from «unpeated» to « highly peated » (50 ppm). This is one of the only things the two distilleries have in common.

The distillery itself is one of the most fascinating we have ever seen. The washbacks are stirred by hand, using a long wooden paddle. The eight large, light beige and grey, mizunara washbacks fill their air with a very particular smell. Akuto, never one to do things the easy way, set himself the monumental task of using this special material. Mizunara is a very fibrous, unstable would that expands and contracts with the elements and every washback is encircled in a metal hoop that staff tighten and loosen as needed. At the back of the room, the Forsyth stills, with their narrow lyne arms, preside over the scene.