A seven-year-old Chichibu single malt from second-fill hogshead #2501, distilled in 2013 and bottled for the Japanese department store group Mitsukoshi Isetan. It was bottled at full cask strength, 62.3%, and gives a clear, spirit-led view of the distillery.
About This Whisky
The spirit went into cask #2501 in 2013 and was bottled after around seven years. A second-fill hogshead has already given up much of its strongest oak flavour, so the cask frames the spirit rather than dominating it, and the distillery's fruit and cereal character comes through clearly. Mitsukoshi Isetan has bottled a series of Chichibu single casks over the years for its whisky counters in Tokyo, and this is one of them.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Sweet malt, pear and green apple, with lemon peel, vanilla and fine oak spice.
- Palate: Precise and lively, with citrus, grain sweetness and honey, then pepper and gentle oak.
- Finish: Long and warming, with dry spice and lingering malt.
Serving & Food
This lighter-cask style shows well in a small copita or tulip. Taste it neat first, then with a little water to bring out the pear and honey. Tempura, white-fish sashimi or a sharp lemon tart all suit it.
How to Enjoy
Those wanting to taste the Chichibu spirit itself, with the cask kept in the background.
Product Details
Producer: Chichibu / Ichiro's Malt
Country: Japan
Region: Saitama
Vintage: 2013
Age: 7 years
Cask type: Hogshead, 2nd fill
Cask Number: #2501
Selection: Mitsukoshi Isetan
ABV: 62.3%
Volume: 700mL
About the Distillery
Chichibu is one of the smallest serious malt distilleries in Japan. Ichiro Akuto built it in 2008 with a 2,000-litre wash still and a spirit still of the same size, both from Forsyths in Scotland, plus mizunara washbacks and an on-site malting floor used for part of the barley. A share of that barley is grown locally. The distillery's reputation rests on its single casks, and Japanese department stores such as Mitsukoshi Isetan have been regular buyers, choosing casks for their whisky counters.