Whisky Talk

Episode 10: Masataka and Rita Taketsuru, A Whisky Love Story

Episode  |  6 February 2020  |  22 mins 13 secs

cask strength whisky, japan, masataka taketsuru, nikka, rita cowan, scotch, scotch malt whisky society, single malt whisky, whisky, yoichi

It's 100 years since Rita Cowan fell in love with her family's Japanese lodger, Masataka Taketsuru, when he stayed with her family while studying Organic Chemistry at Glasgow University. They were married in January 1920 and by the end of the year they had spent time at Hazelburn Distillery in Campbeltown before setting sail for Japan, where Rita supported Masataka's dream of creating a little bit of Scotland in Japan. Whisky Talk tells their story, with the help of Scottish Distillers Association chairman Professor Alan Wolstenholme, whisky writer Dave Broom, co-ordinator of Mandarin Chinese at Imperial College London Ruth Herd, chief blender at Nikka Distillery Tadashi Sakuma and Dr Niall Mackenzie from the Adam Smith Business School at the University of Glasgow.