East Dunbartonshire Provost Gillian Renwick and Depute Provost Colette McDiarmid recently met Naoko Nakamato from Nikka Whisky - the legendary company founded by former Kirkintilloch resident Rita Taketsuru (nee Cowan) and her husband, Masataka - the 'Mother and Father of Japanese Whisky'.
Naoko discussed connections between Yoichi and East Dunbartonshire, and viewed items and information related to the Taketsurus at the Auld Kirk Museum and Kirkintilloch Town Hall. She was accompanied by friend and local businessman Jimmy Watson, who she met when he became the first East Dunbartonshire resident to visit Yoichi (in 1992) after it was twinned with the then Strathkelvin District Council.
