Yamazaki

Japan's First Malt Whisky Distillery

Yamazaki was founded in 1923 by Shinjiro Torii and located in the Vale of Yamazaki, between Osaka and Kyoto, an area chosen for it's water supply and favourable maturation climate. Torii was already established as an importer of fine wine from European and was keen to move into the world of spirits. The setup of the distillery was aided by another soon-to-be titan of Japanese whisky - Masataka Takesuru, who went on to establish Nikka. Over the next 60 years, Yamazaki produced a number of successful blended whiskies, notably Shirofuda and Kakubin, but it wasn't until 1984 that the first ever single malt was released.