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Release Notes
The main ingredient, Malt was floor malted by our own distillery members.
Year 2008 malt whisky was matured in Mizunara hogsheads. To bring the best, we set the ABV high and bottled naturally with no added color and it is
not chill filtered.
Chichibu
This whisky is (currently) the oldest one produced in Chichibu, which is gaining in quality and maturity each year.
Grand-son of the founder of Hanyu distillery, now closed, Ichiro Akuto has a passion about whisky. After working in the whisky industry in Japan , he decided to fulfill his dream to become a producer like his grandfather, so he created his own brand Ichiro 's Malt and Venture Whisky, the company in charge of the distribution. This new single malt is a symbol for him, in fact it was set as a primary objective, produce a 5 year old single malt in 2013.
Ichiro Akuto has demonstrated creativity and ingenuity by selecting three barrels which the oldest dates from 2008. And the Chichibu "On the Way" is not strictly speaking a 5 year old single malt but it contains some in its composition.
Grand-son of the founder of Hanyu distillery, now closed, Ichiro Akuto has a passion about whisky. After working in the whisky industry in Japan , he decided to fulfill his dream to become a producer like his grandfather, so he created his own brand Ichiro 's Malt and Venture Whisky, the company in charge of the distribution. This new single malt is a symbol for him, in fact it was set as a primary objective, produce a 5 year old single malt in 2013.
Ichiro Akuto has demonstrated creativity and ingenuity by selecting three barrels which the oldest dates from 2008. And the Chichibu "On the Way" is not strictly speaking a 5 year old single malt but it contains some in its composition.
Japanese-Whisky.com
Bottle 2383 of 9900. Includes whisky from Chichibu's 2nd batch distilled in 2009 as well as from 2 younger batches. 3 casks were blended for this release. Even at almost 59%ABV it is not full cask strength but was slightly diluted.
Yours Truly
3rd Party Tasting Notes
You will feel the hint of fragrant woods such as aloeswood and sandalwood and herbs in the top note, and feel the sweetness of vanilla and honey, fruitiness of citrus on the palate. Top note has gentle Mizunara flavor. Sweetness which reminds you of vanilla and honey becomes more apparent by adding water.
Rakuten.com
Nose: Fans of Apple and pear will take an immediate liking to this - mostly in the form of juice concentrate and stews (perhaps throw in apple pie for good measure). Past this, caramel sauce over waffles with evident vanilla cream and custard. Brown creaming soda. From here it gets quite oaky, biscuity, and malty, in a sweet way - think Ovaltine. Fragrant hay. Water opens the gates: a mix of soft kiwi fruit, lime, and yuzu jam on toast before going to bitter green herbs, leather, and mellow fragrant wood.
Taste: Prickly heat, leather, grilled Ginkgo seeds (Ginnan), and a detection of Tabasco sauce. Definitely oaky, again malty, and peppery. Wood spice. The only sweet attributes that relate to the nose is caramel syrup, but in a spicy way. Chai perhaps? The bitterness of the Ginkgo seeds is enhanced with water along with an ever so faint menthol taste.
Finish: Moderate and prickly with heat. Water brings bitter apple juice and white pepper.
Comment: This has a very spirity note on the palate similar to that of The Floor Malted. Also, in my opinion, at certain stages it had similar aromas to that of a private release Chibidaru cask (well, that's what I automatically thought of) - and before you say "how is that possible", I know: different cask sizes and wood types were in play. Perhaps these similar attributes (opinion only) from various releases show that Chichibu's "house style" and new-make are of prime quality and very consistent?
Taste: Prickly heat, leather, grilled Ginkgo seeds (Ginnan), and a detection of Tabasco sauce. Definitely oaky, again malty, and peppery. Wood spice. The only sweet attributes that relate to the nose is caramel syrup, but in a spicy way. Chai perhaps? The bitterness of the Ginkgo seeds is enhanced with water along with an ever so faint menthol taste.
Finish: Moderate and prickly with heat. Water brings bitter apple juice and white pepper.
Comment: This has a very spirity note on the palate similar to that of The Floor Malted. Also, in my opinion, at certain stages it had similar aromas to that of a private release Chibidaru cask (well, that's what I automatically thought of) - and before you say "how is that possible", I know: different cask sizes and wood types were in play. Perhaps these similar attributes (opinion only) from various releases show that Chichibu's "house style" and new-make are of prime quality and very consistent?
WhiskiesRUs blogspot
Nose: Dried pears, malt, bran, varnish, caramel, popcorn. Quite oaky for one so young. Some leather with water added. A little incense with a lot of water added
Palate: Quite fiery without water. Dried pears, malt, bran, whole meal, salt, popcorn, caramel, oak, mango, cayenne pepper. Even with water this is one hot whisky.
Finish: Without water the overriding impression is peppery heat and some dry oak. Needs a lot of water to find hints of the mizunara influence(incense). Last Word: One whisky that may have been better suited bottled at a lower abv.
Rating: 80/100
Palate: Quite fiery without water. Dried pears, malt, bran, whole meal, salt, popcorn, caramel, oak, mango, cayenne pepper. Even with water this is one hot whisky.
Finish: Without water the overriding impression is peppery heat and some dry oak. Needs a lot of water to find hints of the mizunara influence(incense). Last Word: One whisky that may have been better suited bottled at a lower abv.
Rating: 80/100
The Japanese Whisky Review
The Distillery: Chichibu
| Established: 2007 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: Chichibu Shi |
Chichibu Distillery is owned by Venture Whisky and was founded by Ichiro AKUTO, grandson of the founder of the now-closed Hanyu distillery which had gone bankrupt 8 years before. The distillery started its operations in February, 2008 and has been making single malt whisky influenced by the local climate.
Chichibu Distillery was established in Chichibu City, in Saitama Prefecture, around 100km north-west of Tokyo. There is a small mill, a mash tun, washbacks made with Japanese oak (Mizunara) and a pair of small copper pot stills, manufactured by Forsyths of Elgin, Scotland.
The distillery was built upon a small hill about half-an-hour’s drive from the centre of Chichibu City. The environment in the area is hot and humid in the summer but extremely cold in the winter with the temperature dropping to below zero in the evenings and early morning. Such an extreme environment is said to have an enormous influence on the aging of whisky, and because of that, Chichibu Distillery’s whiskies are fruity and well-balanced despite their short aging periods.
Although small in scale, the Chichibu Distillery has big dreams and ambitions. Every year their staff travel to the UK to study floor-malting; they then utilize this knowledge to malt barley from Saitama Prefecture at the Chichibu Distillery. Locally produced and malted barley has only accounting for a small part of their production up to now, but is already being used in the making of the Chichibu Single Malt. Whilst faithfully following traditional Scotch whisky production methods, the distillery is trying to carve out its own distinctive character nurtured by Chichibu’s natural environment. Day in, day out, various types of casks are being tried out in search of the unique identity best suited to Chichibu.
Additional malt is currently being imported from Germany and from England while all peat is imported from Scotland. The plan is to eventually source, malt and peat all barley locally not unlike what Islay newcomer Kilchoman is trying to do. There is actually peat in the Saitama area which they hope to begin harvesting with the help of local farmers.
Chichibu Distillery was established in Chichibu City, in Saitama Prefecture, around 100km north-west of Tokyo. There is a small mill, a mash tun, washbacks made with Japanese oak (Mizunara) and a pair of small copper pot stills, manufactured by Forsyths of Elgin, Scotland.
The distillery was built upon a small hill about half-an-hour’s drive from the centre of Chichibu City. The environment in the area is hot and humid in the summer but extremely cold in the winter with the temperature dropping to below zero in the evenings and early morning. Such an extreme environment is said to have an enormous influence on the aging of whisky, and because of that, Chichibu Distillery’s whiskies are fruity and well-balanced despite their short aging periods.
Although small in scale, the Chichibu Distillery has big dreams and ambitions. Every year their staff travel to the UK to study floor-malting; they then utilize this knowledge to malt barley from Saitama Prefecture at the Chichibu Distillery. Locally produced and malted barley has only accounting for a small part of their production up to now, but is already being used in the making of the Chichibu Single Malt. Whilst faithfully following traditional Scotch whisky production methods, the distillery is trying to carve out its own distinctive character nurtured by Chichibu’s natural environment. Day in, day out, various types of casks are being tried out in search of the unique identity best suited to Chichibu.
Additional malt is currently being imported from Germany and from England while all peat is imported from Scotland. The plan is to eventually source, malt and peat all barley locally not unlike what Islay newcomer Kilchoman is trying to do. There is actually peat in the Saitama area which they hope to begin harvesting with the help of local farmers.
from Whisky Magazine, Nonjatta
The Owner: Venture Whisky
| Established: 2004 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: 49 Midori Gaoka, Chichibu Shi, Saitama, Japan |
Ichiro Akuto founded Venture Whisky in September of 2004 after a firm in Koriyama agreed to store 400 casks filled in the 1980s and left from his father"s old distillery, Hanyu, which was taken over and shuttered by a firm in the Kansai region. Akuto used his company to sell the old Hanyu stock under the "Ichiro"s Malt" label. As stocks began to run low he started to make plans for building a new distillery, Chichibu, in 2007. Chichibu started producing whisky in 2008.
from The Interwebs