The Chichibu name on the label tells only half the story. This is American whiskey, distilled in Kentucky in 2006 and aged there until 2012, then shipped to Japan for five more years in cask at Chichibu. Cask 1648 was bottled in July 2017 for the Ken's Choice label at 54.1%, with 238 bottles filled.
About This Whisky
Cask 1648 is listed as a double oak single barrel. It spent 2006 to early 2012 in Kentucky, was moved to Chichibu in February 2012, and was bottled on 1 July 2017, giving eleven years in wood across two continents. Strength is 54.1%, and the outturn was 238 bottles.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Dark toffee, charred oak and vanilla pod, with orange peel and a pinch of cinnamon.
- Palate: Full and rounded, with corn sweetness, burnt caramel, clove and dried cherry, and firm oak tannin building behind.
- Finish: Long and warm, drifting into black pepper, cocoa and toasted wood.
Serving & Food
Serve at about 18 to 20°C in a Glencairn. At 54.1% a teaspoon of water softens the alcohol without flattening the oak. Pair it with smoked beef brisket, pecan pie or dark chocolate sprinkled with sea salt.
How to Enjoy
Bourbon drinkers who want to see what Japanese warehousing does to Kentucky spirit, and followers of the Ken's Choice casks.
Product Details
Producer: Distilled in Kentucky, USA; second maturation and bottling at Chichibu for Ken's Choice
Vintage: 2006
Cuvée: Copper Double Oak
Cask Number: #1648
Maturation: Kentucky 2006 to 2012; Chichibu February 2012 to July 2017
Outturn: 238 bottles
Category: American Whiskey, second-matured in Japan
ABV: 54.1%
Format: 700mL
Origin: USA (distilled) / Japan (matured and bottled)
Region: Kentucky / Saitama
About the Distillery
Ken's Choice is the private-selection label of Ken Matsuyama, who ran Ken's Bar, a jazz and bourbon bar in Shinjuku, from 2004 until 2022. Around 2012 a handful of Kentucky barrels from the 2006 and 2007 seasons were moved to Chichibu for a long second maturation, and they have been bottled one cask at a time since. The Kentucky distillery has never been confirmed, though several specialist retailers suggest Wild Turkey.
Chichibu itself was founded by Ichiro Akuto, grandson of the man behind Hanyu distillery, and has distilled malt in Saitama since 2008 under his company Venture Whisky. Summers there are hot and humid and winters sharp, so casks resting in its warehouses see wide swings in temperature through the year.
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