Chichibu Paris Edition 2020 was bottled for La Maison du Whisky at 52.8% volume. MATURATION & BLENDING: Eight casks make up the release. Five held whisky from in 2013: one first-fill bourbon cask with peated spirit, three virgin-oak casks and a port pipe. The other three held whisky distilled in 2014: two quarter casks, called chibidaru, and one red-wine cask. The vatting weaves five cask influences into a single expression of uncommon density and layering. SUGGESTIONS: Serve neat in a tulip glass, with water alongside to add a few drops at a time. Try it with aged Comté.
Tasting notes
Old gold with copper reflections.
Floral aromas, beeswax and dried banana, with chalky mineral notes.
Leafy and spicy neat; with water, custard, banana, raisins and fresh oak.
Medium finish, with leafy and gently wine-like notes.
Opened in 2008 in Saitama Prefecture, roughly 80 km north-west of Tokyo. It is the creation of Ichiro Akuto, 21st generation of a family producing spirits since 1625. After the closure of the family's Hanyu Distillery in 2000, Akuto purchased the orphaned casks in 2004 to commercialise Ichiro's Malt. In 2008, he opened Chichibu, Japan's first new whisky distillery in 35 years. His philosophy is built on small-scale artisanal production, uncompromising attention to raw materials, distillation and maturation, and a refusal of chill-filtration. The distillery sources local barley and employs floor malting for part of its production. In 2019, Akuto opened Chichibu Daini, with five times the original capacity. In 2024, he was inducted into the Whisky Magazine Hall of Fame.
Whiskyfun: Chichibu Paris Edition 2020
