Nikka Whisky Reference Guide Update

Post by Stefan Van Eycken, Tokyo

A few weeks ago, we ran into Hajime Asano, who loyal readers (check here) and/or Nikka-fans will remember as the unofficial archivist of all things Nikka. He self-published the first version of his comprehensive list of all Nikka whisky releases at the end of 2012, and has just published an updated version, including not only new releases since then (some of them gracing the cover) but also containing many additions and clarifications. The list of single cask releases is particularly useful, and there’s even a section on canned highballs released by Nikka so far.

Asano-san is also working on a detailed history of the company (he showed us the first draft, which is close to 500 pages!). Nikka really should be paying him for all the work he is doing… and why is nobody doing anything similar for Suntory? Given the fact that both companies are making record profits and celebrating all kinds of anniversaries, isn’t it about time they set aside a minuscule part of their budget and assigned someone to go through their archives to write a detailed (bi-lingual!) company history? One can dream…