Today the initial Yamazaki distillery continues to produce and also houses Suntory’s whisky library, a collection of over 7,000 unblended spirits.

Suntory’s mega-acquisition of Beam in 2014 has made it one of the world’s largest makers of distilled beverages. After an initial run that proved too smoky and Scotch-like for popular consumption in Japan, Torii released the Kakubin (“square bottle”) which caught on and became quite popular.Īs the business grew, it was re-branded “Suntory” (from the English “sun” and an anglicisation of Torii’s name) and actively expanded whisky drinking culture in Japan, popularizing the whisky highball in the post-war years and promoting the international reputation of Japanese distilling on the world stage. He picked the location of the Yamazaki distillery, opened 1923, to employ the special climate and the soft waters of the Katsura, Uji and Kizu rivers converging on the outskirts of Tokyo. On opening his own business as a purveyor of imported and fortified wines, Torii cultivated the ambition of creating a Scotch-inspired whisky from Japanese ingredients, aged in the climate of Japan. Founder Shinjiro Torii apprenticed at a pharmaceutical wholesalers’ in Meiji-era Osaka where he became familiar with both Western liquors and the craft of blending. The art of blending is at the core of Suntory’s brand history and distilling philosophy.

Suntory whiskey toki rating