A peated Chichibu single malt distilled in 2012 and bottled in 2018 from hogshead #2077. It was released as The Single Cask Peated for the Modern Malt Whisky Market 2018 in Tokyo, with 356 bottles at a natural 61.8%.
About This Whisky
Chichibu makes a share of its spirit each year from peated malt, most of it imported from Scotland, and this cask shows that side of the distillery. The 2012 spirit spent around six years in hogshead #2077 before being bottled in 2018 for the Modern Malt Whisky Market, a Tokyo tasting event. It was bottled at full cask strength. Expect the peat to sit as smoke and ash rather than medicinal notes, with the spirit's fruit still showing through.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Bonfire smoke and ash, with lemon, green apple, sea salt and a little mint.
- Palate: Oily and intense, with peat smoke, orchard fruit, pepper and sweet malt.
- Finish: Long, with ash, herbs and lingering smoke over citrus.
Serving & Food
Pour a modest measure and add water freely; the smoke turns sweeter and the citrus comes forward as it drops below 55%. Grilled mackerel, smoked salmon on rye, or raw oysters with lemon are natural matches.
How to Enjoy
Peat drinkers who want to try Japanese smoke at full strength.
Product Details
Producer: Chichibu / Ichiro's Malt
Country: Japan
Region: Saitama
Vintage: 2012
Bottled: 2018
Style: Peated single cask Japanese single malt
Cask: Hogshead
Cask number: #2077
Release: The Single Cask Peated, Modern Malt Whisky Market 2018
Bottles: 356
ABV: 61.8%
Format: 700mL
About the Distillery
Chichibu runs peated malt for part of each year, mostly using peated barley imported from Scotland, and the rest of the time makes unpeated spirit. Founder Ichiro Akuto has also experimented with local peat and floor malting on site. The distillery opened in 2008, set up by Venture Whisky, the company he formed in 2004 after Hanyu closed. Stills are small Forsyths pots, and the cold winters and hot summers in the Saitama hills speed up maturation. Peated single casks like this one appear in small numbers.