https://munchies.vice.com/en_us/article/4xbz5q/japanese-whisky-is-all-about-starting-over
"I have kind of a weird connection with Japan. My grandfather was stationed there after World War II, and after he came back he became a professor of East Asian studies. He's 95 and still teaches at Columbia. My dad spent seventh grade at a middle school in Kyoto, and my parents took my brother and me to Kyoto when I was 13. So, the connection has always been very strong within my family and for me personally."