Yamazaki became Japan’s first commercial whisky distillery in 1923.
Shinjiro Torii founded the Yamazaki Distillery in Shimamoto, near Kyoto, in 1923. Torii later founded Kotobukiya, the company that became Suntory. He wanted to create a Japanese whisky suited to local tastes and conditions, drawing on techniques learned from Scottish whisky production.
The site was selected near the meeting point of the Katsura, Uji and Kizu rivers. Its water and varied local climate became important parts of the distillery’s identity. Yamazaki produced Japan’s first single malt whisky and helped establish Japanese whisky as a distinct international category.
Japanese producers adopted many Scottish methods, including malted barley, pot stills and oak maturation, but developed their own equipment, blending practices and flavour profiles. The category gained major international attention after Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013 was named the world’s best whisky in Jim Murray’s 2015 Whisky Bible.