Chichibu Single Cask #4334 8 Years Old 2015 (Ex-Bourbon)

Single cask #4334 from Chichibu's Saitama distillery was distilled in 2015 and bottled by the distillery in 2023 at 63.3% for the French market after eight years in Ex-Bourbon wood. The release sits in the more mature tier of Chichibu's 2015 vintage single casks, where the extra years in wood have had a meaningful effect on the spirit's character.

Eight years in a bourbon barrel gives Chichibu's fruit-forward new make a degree of roundness that shorter maturations from the same vintage do not reach: the vanilla and caramel of American oak are fuller here, the orchard fruit more settled and integrated, and the finish longer and warmer. At 63.3% the spirit is concentrated and demands engagement, but the additional maturation makes it worth the patience of a little dilution.