Chichibu Single Cask #1435 6 Years Old 2011 (Ex-Bourbon)

Chichibu is a small Saitama distillery started in 2008 by Ichiro Akuto, founder of Venture Whisky and heir to the Hanyu distilling family. Water comes off the Arakawa river system, filtered through the surrounding mountains to a clean mineral balance that lets the fruit and oak show. Wide day to night temperature swings drive the wood interaction, which is why Chichibu reads older than its years suggest.

This is unpeated single malt, matured in ex-bourbon American oak. At 6 years, helped by an angel's share near double Scotland's, the make tastes older than it is, the esters rounding into stone fruit and the oak settling. Ex-bourbon vanillin reads as vanilla and oak lactones as coconut. Underneath the wood, the make keeps its clean, fruity core, green apple and stone fruit with a light floral edge.

This bottling was distilled in 2011, from cask 1435 and bottled in 2017. It is a run of 150 bottles, released for Japan. Single casks like this are the heart of the Chichibu name, each one a different reading of the same young, fast matured spirit. At 59.9% it drinks well neat, with water settling the oak.