Chichibu Ichiro’s Malt 8 Years Old 2017

Chichibu is a small Saitama distillery started in 2008 by Ichiro Akuto, founder of Venture Whisky and heir to the Hanyu distilling family. The basin climate swings from humid summers near 35 degrees to winters below freezing, so the casks expand and contract hard and the spirit takes on wood faster than it would in Scotland. The make is double distilled in copper pot stills built by Forsyths, from mostly unpeated barley, and matured on site in dunnage warehouses.

This is unpeated single malt, matured in a red wine cask. By 8 years the spirit and oak have started to integrate, rougher notes softening as esters build into orchard and tropical fruit. The wine lends red berry fruit and a light tannic grip. On the palate the Chichibu signature shows through: bright orchard fruit, a clean citrus lift and a thread of wildflower honey.

This bottling was distilled in 2017, from cask 14788 and bottled in 2025. It is a run of 307 bottles, released for Sweden. Each cask is bottled on its own terms, a snapshot of how a particular wood shaped the Saitama spirit. Bottled at 59.5%, natural colour and not chill filtered.