Chichibu Single Cask #1000 8 Years Old 2010 (Mizunara)

Founded in 2008 by Ichiro Akuto, Chichibu has risen fast from a small mountain distillery to one of the most sought names in Japanese whisky. The distillery ferments in washbacks built from Japanese mizunara oak, where native lactobacilli add fruit and a light incense note to the wash. Production is small, around a third of a million litres a year, with floor malting done by hand on occasion and every stage run under one roof.

This is unpeated single malt, matured in Japanese mizunara oak. By 8 years the spirit and oak have started to integrate, rougher notes softening as esters build into orchard and tropical fruit. Mizunara lactones give sandalwood and a temple incense note. Chichibu's fruit led house character carries throughout, pear and honey balanced by a dry, oaky finish.

This bottling was distilled in 2010, from cask 1000 and bottled in 2018. It is a run of 278 bottles, released for Europe. From a distillery still in its first generation, bottlings like this show how far Chichibu has come in a short time. Bottled at 62.2%, it rewards a drop of water to open the fruit. It remains one of the most collected names in modern Japanese whisky.