A peated Chichibu from 2014, drawn from a single second-fill bourbon barrel, cask #3531, and bottled at a full 65.2% for La Maison du Whisky in Paris. Expect smoke framed by clean barrel sweetness rather than heavy oak.
About This Whisky
Distilled in 2014 from peated malt and filled into a bourbon barrel on its second use, so the wood adds vanilla and soft sweetness without covering the spirit. It was bottled at cask strength, 65.2%, as a single-cask selection for Golden Promise, La Maison du Whisky's bar in Paris. The run came to 197 bottles. The Paris house has bottled a long line of Chichibu single casks, peated and unpeated, and this one sits in that family.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Wood smoke and peat ash first, then lemon zest, pear drops, vanilla pod and a bready malt core.
- Palate: Hot and concentrated at full strength: smoked barley sugar, lemon curd, white pepper and a mineral edge. Water brings out custard and green apple.
- Finish: Long and drying, with embers, vanilla and a faint salinity.
Serving & Food
At 65.2% this needs care. Pour a small measure into a tulip glass at room temperature, taste it neat once, then add water a drop at a time until the smoke settles and the fruit comes forward. Try it with grilled mackerel, charred chicken skewers or a slice of aged Comté.
How to Enjoy
Peat lovers who follow Chichibu's single casks, and anyone comparing the Paris selections side by side.
Product Details
Distillery: Chichibu
Vintage: 2014
Cask: #3531
Cask Type: Second-fill bourbon barrel, peated spirit
Bottled For: La Maison du Whisky, Golden Promise bar, Paris
Bottles: 197
Volume: 700mL
Region: Saitama, Japan
ABV: 65.2% ABV
Origin: Japan
About the Distillery
Peat has been part of the Chichibu picture almost from the start. Ichiro Akuto began distilling in February 2008, and a smoky spirit made from peated malt bought in from Scotland has run alongside the unpeated one since the early years. The first official release built on it, The Peated, followed not long after The First and used malt at around 51 parts per million phenols, heavy by any standard. Since then peated casks have turned up across the range, from city editions to single casks chosen by shops and bars. Because both streams share the same small stills and warehouses, a single cask like this one shows how the smoke sits with the distillery's usual fruit.