Nikka's founder Masataka Taketsuru is considered the father of Japanese whisky. He was born into a family of saké producers. After completing studies in chemistry, he was recruited by the Settsu Shuzo company, who sent him to Scotland in 1918 to complete his apprenticeship. There he developed a passion for whisky and decided to dedicate his life to it. On his return to Japan in 1923, Masataka joined the Kotobukiya group, later renamed Suntory, where he was entrusted with the creation of Yamazaki, Japan's first ever distillery. In 1934, he built Yoichi, his first distillery, on the island of Hokkaido. To achieve this, he sought to reproduce conditions similar to those used to make great Scottish whiskies, eventually settling by the sea in a village with a harsh, cold climate, peat bogs and fresh sea air. Still to this day, distillation methods follow tradition. The stills are heated by a coal fire, at a very high temperature, then the whiskies are aged in oak casks. The company adopted the name Nikka Whisky in 1952. Its growing success enabled him to establish a second distillery in 1969, near Sendai, named Miyagikyo. It is from the single malts of these two distilleries that the Nikka Whisky group produces its entire range of Japanese whiskies. Masataka Taketsuru died in 1979, leaving behind a colossal legacy for Japanese whisky, thanks to this house which regularly wins awards and is praised by the specialist press.

Black Nikka Rich Blend is a blend launched in Japan in 2013. Nikka Black was created in 1965 and quickly became a classic for the brand. A lighter, unpeated version named Black Nikka Clear Blend was introduced in 1997 to suit the tastes of the time. Rich Blend, for its part, was for fans looking for a more pronounced flavour and Nikka recommended serving it on the rocks. It includes unpeated and lightly peated whisky from Miyagikyo and heavily peated whisky from Yoichi with a generous share of sherry casks in the blend. The grain whisky was distilled at Miyagikyo in its Coffey still.