Chichibu Refill Hanyu Cask # 2085 2012 700mL

This single cask ties Chichibu to the distillery that came before it. Spirit distilled at Chichibu in 2012 was matured in cask #2085, a refill cask that had previously held Hanyu whisky, and bottled in 2019 at 61.5% for La Maison du Whisky.

About This Whisky

Cask #2085 was filled in 2012 and bottled in 2019, making the whisky about seven years old. Because the wood had already held Hanyu whisky, it gave less raw oak than a fresh cask and left more room for the spirit. The 336 bottles were released through La Maison du Whisky at 61.5% ABV, with a label titled Accomplir from the Darumas series drawn by Camille Ronceray.

Tasting Profile

• Nose: Dried apricot, beeswax and baked apple, with sandalwood and a faint savoury note.
• Palate: Concentrated and oily, with honey, orange marmalade, nutmeg and old, polished oak.
• Finish: Even and unhurried, with dried fruit, gentle spice and malt.

Serving & Food

Let it breathe in the glass for a while before the first sip. Use a Glencairn, unchilled, adding water drop by drop to tame the 61.5%. Pair with a slice of fruit cake, roasted pecans or a firm aged Beaufort.

How to Enjoy

Collectors drawn to the Hanyu link, and drinkers looking for a mature-tasting Chichibu at cask strength.

Product Details

About the Distillery

Hanyu, in the Saitama city of the same name, was founded by Ichiro Akuto's grandfather. When it stopped distilling and was later dismantled, Akuto kept around 400 casks of its whisky, and in 2004 he set up Venture Whisky to bottle them. Some of those casks, once emptied, were refilled with young spirit from his new distillery in Chichibu, which began production in 2008. Hanyu has since gathered a large collector following, and Chichibu matured in its old wood keeps a direct line back to that family story.