A single bourbon barrel of Chichibu, distilled on Christmas Eve 2011 and bottled in January 2019 for the Malt Dream Cask series under the TMC label. It went into 173 bottles at a punchy 62.3%, close to the strength at which Chichibu fills its casks.
About This Whisky
Malt Dream Cask is the name Chichibu uses for single casks bottled for individual bars and shops. Cask 1535 is an ex-bourbon barrel filled on 24 December 2011 and emptied on 25 January 2019, a little over seven years. It was bottled for TMC at 62.3% without reduction, and 173 bottles were filled.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Honeyed malt, lemon curd and vanilla, with candied fruit and a spicy bourbon-wood edge.
- Palate: Thick and powerful, with ripe orchard fruit, malt sugar and assertive oak; water brings out pineapple and cream.
- Finish: Long and hot at full strength, easing into spice, toffee and sweet malt.
Serving & Food
At 62.3% it needs care: a small pour in a Glencairn, a pipette of cool water, and time. Taste it alongside grilled unagi, crème brûlée or roasted cashews.
How to Enjoy
Fans of high-strength single casks and anyone following the Malt Dream Cask releases.
Product Details
Distillery: Chichibu
Country: Japan
Region: Saitama
Series: Malt Dream Cask
Distilled / Bottled: 24.12.2011 / 25.01.2019
Cask: Bourbon barrel #1535
Bottled For: TMC / Bar Lemonhart label
Outturn: 173 bottles
Category: Japanese Single Malt Whisky
ABV: 62.3%
Volume: 700mL
About the Distillery
Chichibu has been making single malt in Saitama since February 2008. Its first release from its own stock, Chichibu The First, came out in 2011 and was named Japanese Whisky of the Year by Whisky Advocate the following year.
Everything is done at a small scale. The stills hold about 2,000 litres each, fermentations in mizunara washbacks run for 60 to 80 hours, and the distillery repairs and assembles casks in its own cooperage. Bourbon barrels are the workhorse cask.