Chichibu from 2011, finished in a cask that had held imperial stout, then bottled in 2020 at 55.2% for The Whisky Exchange. The beer cask brings roast and cocoa to a spirit that is usually all fruit and malt.
About This Whisky
Distilled in 2011, this malt was moved after its first maturation into an ex-imperial stout cask for a finishing period. Imperial stout is a strong, dark beer, and the wood carries traces of roasted malt and bitter chocolate into the whisky. The distillery bottled cask #5577 in 2020 at 55.2% for The Whisky Exchange, giving a Chichibu that sits well away from the usual fruit-and-vanilla profile.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Mocha, roasted barley and dark cherry, with brown sugar and a whiff of hops.
- Palate: Rich and chewy: cocoa, espresso, dried fig and toffee, then orange peel and pepper.
- Finish: Long and bittersweet, roasted malt fading into milk chocolate and oak.
Serving & Food
Best poured neat into a wide-bowled glass so the roasted notes can spread. It holds up to a little water without losing shape. For food, think chocolate brownies, braised beef cheek or a sticky date pudding.
How to Enjoy
A talking point for beer and whisky drinkers alike, and a good bottle for anyone tracking Chichibu's cask experiments.
Product Details
Producer: Chichibu / Ichiro's Malt
Vintage: 2011
Bottled: 2020
Cask: Imperial stout cask finish, #5577
Bottled for: The Whisky Exchange
Category: Japanese single malt whisky, single cask
ABV: 55.2% ABV
Format: 700mL
About the Distillery
Wood is where Chichibu puts much of its effort. In 2013 Ichiro Akuto bought the tools of Mitsuo Saito, a veteran cooper retiring in his eighties, and set up a cooperage at the distillery. The young coopers there spent years on casks made wholly from mizunara, a timber that leaks badly unless worked with great care, and completed the first fully in-house example in October 2016. The same restlessness shows in the cask list, which runs from bourbon barrels and sherry to wine casks, small chibidaru quarter casks and several beer casks. The beer-cask releases, IPA and stout among them, are some of the oddest bottlings Chichibu has released.