Founded: 1899 (as Torii Shinjiro’s wine business); Yamazaki Distillery: 1923 (ESTABLISHED FACT) Location: Yamazaki: Shimamoto, Osaka; Hakushu: Hokuto, Yamanashi Founder: Shinjiro Torii (founder); Masataka Taketsuru (first distillery master)
Shinjiro Torii founded Torii Shoten (later Suntory) in 1899. He hired Masataka Taketsuru, who had studied whisky-making in Scotland, to build Japan’s first malt whisky distillery at Yamazaki in 1923. Hakushu was established later (1973). Suntory’s Hibiki harmony blend launched in 1989. Suntory acquired Beam (Jim Beam) in 2014 to form Beam Suntory. (source: Wikipedia)
Signature style: Elegant, refined, balanced — Yamazaki: fruit (peach, berry), Mizunara spice, gentle oak. Hakushu: fresh, herbal, minty, pine. Hibiki: harmonious blend.
Famous expressions: Yamazaki 12 Year, Yamazaki 18 Year, Hakushu 12 Year, Hakushu 18 Year, Hibiki Harmony, Hibiki 21 Year.
Trivia: Masataka Taketsuru, Suntory’s first distillery master and later founder of Nikka, studied organic chemistry and whisky-making at the University of Glasgow and apprenticed at Longmorn and Hazelburn distilleries in Scotland. — ESTABLISHED FACT