Chichibu 2014
Cask Type: First Fill Barrel
Bottled: 2021
Age: 8
Region: Japan
No. of bottles: 268
ABV: 57.6%
Release: Winter Release 2022
Jonny McMillan
“Precise, chiselled, pure; this sort of malt driven goodness can only mean Chichibu! It’s very exciting to bottle a cask from such an in demand distillery, especially when it lives up to the hype.
Tasting Notes
Lush aromas of ripe mango and lime juice drift out of the glass, mingling with spiced custard over apple sponge cake. A little time in the glass brings a chiselled maltiness into play along with a touch of desiccated coconut. The palate is noticeably thick, showing a wonderful mouthfeel. The character is initially of dried malt, but soon develops into fresh citrus fruits, apricot yoghurt and banana bread, with a suggestion of wood smoke on the rear palate. The finish brings spiced crème brûlée, dried apple and a mouth-watering note of ripening pineapple. This is a masterclass in Japanese whisky from one of the world’s most in-demand distilleries.
Distillery
Founded by the now legendary Ichiro Akuto in 2004, Chichibu began distilling in 2008, becoming the first new Japanese whisky distillery since 1973. The production at Chichibu is ruthlessly quality-focused and it has rightly become highly sought after by whisky aficionados around the world. Until recently the distillery only produced 60,000 LPA, under 500 barrels per year - however a much welcome expansion has increased the output significantly.
Doug says: “Ichiro Akuto has been called the Rockstar of Japanese Whisky. He draws his inspiration from Nikka and Suntory’s products which he grew up with but has modelled his own whisky with his concentration on small volume output and acute attention to quality at the highest level.”