Distilled in 2013 and matured in one oloroso sherry hogshead, this Ichiro's Malt 'The Single Cask' bottling was filled in 2018 for Prineus GmbH in Germany. It came to 306 bottles at 49.7%, gentle for a cask-strength Chichibu.
About This Whisky
Cask #2593 was filled in 2013 and bottled at cask strength in 2018, so about five years in wood. Oloroso is the dry, nutty style of sherry, and a hogshead, smaller than a butt, gives the spirit plenty of contact with the seasoned oak. The bottling was selected for Prineus GmbH in Germany and carries the Ichiro's Malt 'The Single Cask' label. 306 bottles were filled.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Raisin, walnut and orange marmalade, with malt and a savoury, leathery edge.
- Palate: Supple at 49.7%: dried fig, toffee, roasted nuts and clove, with Chichibu's fruit still clear underneath.
- Finish: Medium-long, nutty and gently spiced, with a dry sherry grip.
Serving & Food
Most palates will not need water here. Serve it at room temperature in a small wine glass, and pair with Manchego, roast chestnuts or a dark fruitcake at the end of a meal.
How to Enjoy
Sherry-cask drinkers, and a friendly way into Chichibu single casks thanks to the lower strength.
Product Details
Producer: Chichibu / Ichiro's Malt
Country: Japan
Region: Saitama
Style: Japanese single malt whisky
Vintage: 2013
Bottled: 2018
Cask Number: #2593
Cask Type: Oloroso sherry hogshead
Bottled For: Prineus GmbH, Germany
Bottles: 306
ABV: 49.7% ABV
Volume: 700mL
About the Distillery
Ichiro Akuto dates his fascination with Japanese oak to around 2004, when a Tokyo bar poured him a 40-year-old Yamazaki aged in mizunara. When Chichibu opened a few years later, he had its washbacks made from the same wood, a first in whisky, and filled new make into mizunara casks whenever he could get them. That interest in timber runs through the whole cask list at the distillery, which takes in ex-bourbon barrels, sherry butts and hogsheads, French wine casks, beer casks and mizunara. Single casks like this one let a single wood type speak clearly, which is why so many Chichibu releases are bottled one cask at a time.