Miyagikyo is Nikka's second whisky distillery, opened on 10 May 1969 near Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture as Sendai Distillery.1,2,3 In 1999 Nikka moved Coffey stills here to make grain whisky.4,5,6
Masataka Taketsuru believed blending whiskies from different climates was preferable, so he planned a bright, light malt unlike Yoichi's, made in bulge-shaped pot stills.1,2,3 In 1967, Takeshi Taketsuru, then head of Nikka's Hokkaido plant, searched with other staff for a second site.3,5
Absolutely excellent and easy-going, this Japanese malt balances orange blossom honey, subtle smoke, citrus fruits and orange marmalade with elegant cedarwood…
The stills first came to Nikka in 1962, for its Nishinomiya plant, and make grain whisky here from corn and malt.4,5,6 In 2013 it had two Coffey stills, an early kind of continuous still that is said to leave more flavour than more common types.5,8
The 2011 Tohoku earthquake did only minor damage, such as slates knocked off the kiln.6,9 Staff stayed home through March because of aftershocks, and whisky production restarted on 27 April.6,9
Its malt is imported from Scotland and Australia.8 In 2013 it had 8 pot stills and 22 stainless steel washbacks, the tanks where wort, the sugary water from the mash, ferments into a beer called wash.5 Its pot stills are heated with indirect steam.3,4,10 Masataka chose indirect steam, unlike Yoichi; it distils slowly at about 130°C.3,4,10 Nikka describes the malt whisky made here as soft and mild.11
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