Taketsuru Pure Malt gets a new limited series, with 10,000 bottles for overseas

The five-year “Essentials” series

Taketsuru Pure Malt is a brand that began in 2000, and its name comes from Masataka Taketsuru, the founder of Nikka Whisky. A pure malt is a whisky made by blending only malt whiskies produced at more than one distillery. The brand has long been known for its delicate character, which comes from combining two malts of differing personality: those of the Yoichi Distillery in Hokkaido and the Miyagikyo Distillery in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. The new “Essentials” series is a plan to release limited-quantity bottlings with a different theme each year for five years from 2026, leading up to the brand’s 30th anniversary in 2030. The name carries the meaning of “the essence” and “what is indispensable”.

The first theme: direct coal-fired distillation

The first release takes up the direct coal-fired distillation that the Yoichi Distillery has practised since it began operating. This is the traditional method of heating the stills directly with a coal fire, and Nikka says it has particularly brought out the toasty aroma and deep flavour that this technique produces. Some of the blend uses long-matured Yoichi and Miyagikyo malts distilled in 2000, the year the brand was born. The result is a full-bodied taste that combines the gentle cask aroma from maturation with the sweetness of the malt and the richness of peat, and it is said to finish on a sweet, slightly bitter note. The coloured band at the bottom of the label shifts in a gradient from black, the brand colour of Taketsuru Pure Malt, to the deep indigo of Single Malt Yoichi, signalling that this year’s theme lies with Yoichi.

Half of the 20,000 bottles go overseas

The whisky is bottled at 43% ABV in 700 ml bottles, with a total of 20,000 bottles available. Of these, 10,000 were allocated to Japan and 10,000 to overseas markets. In Japan it went on sale on 16 June at a recommended retail price of 27,500 yen including tax. In 2025, Nikka began construction of a cooperage and a high-rise warehouse, among other facilities, at the Yoichi Distillery at a cost of about 7 billion yen. It is also aiming to rank among the world’s top ten in the premium whisky category. Directing half of the limited edition overseas also hints at that international strategy.

If you are looking for it in Europe, the quickest route is to check for the name “Taketsuru Pure Malt Essentials 2026” at retailers that stock Nikka and at specialist whisky online shops. How the 10,000 bottles for overseas will be divided between countries has not been announced. When you drink it, first try a small amount neat and look for the toasty aroma from the direct coal firing and the sense of maturity brought by the 2000 malts. Comparing it with the regular Taketsuru Pure Malt may show you what this series has chosen to extract as the “essence”. It will also be worth watching which themes are chosen for the remaining four years.