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The Nikka Whisky Distilling Co. Ltd. (ニッカウヰスキー株式会社) is a producer of Japanese whisky headquartered in Tokyo. They have two malt whisky distilleries, one in Yoichi, Hokkaidō (established in 1934), and the other in Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Northern Honshū (established in 1969). The company owns the Ben Nevis Distillery (acquired in 1989) in Scotland.

== History ==
The founder, Masataka Taketsuru, traveled to Scotland in 1918 to learn the process of distilling Scotch whisky first-hand. In 1923 he joined Kotobukiya (currently Suntory) and helped to establish a distillery before starting Nikka in 1934.[1]
Nikka produces a wide variety of Japanese whiskies, ranging from ¥900 (per 700ml bottle) Black Nikka sold in Japanese convenience stores, to the ¥15,750 (per 750ml bottle) Nikka Single Cask.[2] In 2008, Yoichi 20 Year Old was voted best single malt at the World Whisky Awards.[3]
Black Nikka is a 37% alcoholic whisky, available at corner stores throughout Japan in 180, 300, 700, 1800, 1920, 2700, and 4000 mL bottles. Individual servings, pre-mixed with soda or water, are also available. As of 2009 Nikka decided to rename the Black Nikka brand to just "BLACK" for unknown reasons.
Nikka is currently owned by Asahi Breweries.

== Production ==
**[[Ben Nevis Distillery|Ben Nevis]]
**From The Barrel
**Yoichi

== The taste ==
* "Black" is a pure malt whisky made primarily with the Yoichi malt, and it has a solid, bold taste. 
* "Red," on the other hand, is made primarily with malt of the Miyagikyo distillery and has a soft, delicate flavor. 
* "White" is a pure malt whisky made mainly with Islay, Scotland type malt and has a heavy, peaty essence.

== Sources ==
* http://en.wikipedia.org
* http://www.nikka.com