07/27/2026
Happy National Scotch Day! 🥃
Did you know Scotch and sake share a surprising connection?
Long before Masataka Taketsuru became known as the father of Japanese whisky, he grew up in a family that had brewed sake for generations. His journey began in a sake brewery in Hiroshima before taking him to Scotland 🏴 to study whisky-making. He later returned to Japan 🇯🇵, helped establish what became Suntory’s Yamazaki Distillery, and eventually founded Nikka Whisky, laying the foundation for Japanese whisky as we know it today.
It raises an interesting question: Would Japanese whisky exist without sake?
We’ll never know. But it’s hard to separate Taketsuru’s whisky legacy from the sake brewery where his journey began.
Today, we raise a glass to Masataka Taketsuru and to the generations of craftsmanship behind both Scotch and sake. Slainte 🥃, Kanpai 🍶.
