A 23-year-old single malt from the closed Hanyu distillery, bottled at cask strength under the Ichiro's Malt label. It was made from spirit distilled in 1985 and 1986 and matured in sherry wood.
About This Whisky
This release draws on the oldest Hanyu stock Ichiro Akuto inherited, from the mid-1980s, when Hanyu was making malt at its peak. The spirit spent over two decades in sherry casks before it was bottled in 2008, undiluted at 58%. It sits apart from the Card Series single casks: rather than one cask with a playing-card label, it is a small vatting chosen to show the house style at full age.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Raisin, dried orange peel and cedar, with sherry spice, vanilla and old oak.
- Palate: Big and layered. Dark fruit, honeyed malt, clove and a firm, resinous oak grip.
- Finish: Long and warming, with dried fruit, sandalwood and spice.
Serving & Food
Pour a small measure into a Glencairn and let it stand for ten minutes before tasting. At 58% a few drops of water help. Pair with braised pork belly, dried figs and blue cheese, or a slice of dark fruitcake.
How to Enjoy
Drinkers who want to taste mature Hanyu at full strength, and anyone building a closed-distillery collection.
Product Details
Brand / Distillery: Ichiro's Malt, Hanyu Distillery, Japan
Style: Japanese single malt whisky
Age / Bottling: 23 years old, bottled 2008
Vintage detail: Distilled 1985 and 1986
Maturation: Sherry casks
ABV: 58%
Proof: 116
Volume: 700mL
Origin: Japan
About the Distillery
Hanyu stood in Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo. It was run by Toa Shuzo, the company of the Akuto family, sake brewers since 1625, and malt whisky took off there in the 1980s.
When Japan's whisky market collapsed in the 1990s, Hanyu stopped distilling in 2000, and the company was sold in 2004. Ichiro Akuto borrowed from relatives to buy the stock and moved the remaining casks to storage offered by Sasanokawa Shuzo in Fukushima so they would not be lost.