Nikka's founder Masataka Taketsuru is considered the father of Japanese whisky. 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. In 1934, he built Yoichi, his first distillery, on the island of Hokkaido. 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.

Nikka From the Barrel is a blend released by Nikka in 1985. Featuring a large proportion of malt whisky, it is bottled at 51.4%, an unusually high ABV for a blend. The idea was to recreate the experience of a whisky tasted naturally, without being diluted, as though straight from the barrel, as blenders would experience it. After blending many batches of malt and grain whisky together, everything is married in second-hand casks for a few additional months. This blend became an iconic whisky for Nikka with its square bottle.