Cask #198 was filled at Chichibu in December 2008, the distillery's first year, and bottled six years later for Kinokuniya's liquor shop in Ebisu, Tokyo. It is a Malt Dream Cask release from a single bourbon barrel, bottled at 62% ABV with an outturn of 213 bottles.
About This Whisky
Malt Dream Cask was Chichibu's early scheme for selling whole casks to private buyers and bottling them under the buyer's name. This one went to Kinokuniya. It was distilled in December 2008 from Optic barley and filled into an ex-bourbon barrel, then bottled in January 2015. That makes it a six-year-old whisky at full cask strength of 62%, with 213 bottles in total.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Lemon curd, fresh pineapple and vanilla, with the green, sappy edge of young oak.
- Palate: Hot and vivid at full strength, with barley sugar, tropical fruit, ginger and a creamy middle.
- Finish: Long, with citrus peel, white pepper and sweet oak.
Serving & Food
Pour a small measure at room temperature into a tulip-shaped glass. At 62% it loosens noticeably with a splash of water, so add a little and wait. Works with yuzu-glazed pork belly, a mild blue cheese or pineapple tarts.
How to Enjoy
Collectors tracking Chichibu's 2008 casks, and those who like bright, high-strength bourbon-barrel malt.
Product Details
Origin: Chichibu, Saitama, Japan
Distillery: Chichibu
Series: Malt Dream Cask, Kinokuniya
Cask: Single bourbon barrel #198
Barley: Optic
Distilled: December 2008
Bottled: January 2015
Age: 6 years
ABV: 62.0%
Outturn: 213 bottles
Volume: 700ml
About the Distillery
By the time this cask was bottled in 2015, Chichibu already had a following well beyond Saitama. Its first full single malt, The First, came out in 2011 from spirit distilled in the opening year, and Whisky Advocate named it Japanese Whisky of the Year in 2012. Whiskies built from Chichibu stock, the Ichiro's Malt & Grain blends among them, have since collected seven World's Best category titles at the World Whiskies Awards between 2017 and 2025. That is a lot of attention for a site running one pair of small pot stills, and it explains why casks from the first two years are watched so closely. In 2024 Whisky Magazine added Ichiro Akuto to its Hall of Fame.