An unapologetic world whisky blended by Japanese whisky master Ichiro Akuto. Ichiro operates the Chichibu distillery in the Saitama Prefecture. This contains stuff from Canada, Scotland, Ireland, USA, and some of Ichiros own whiskies produced in house. 46.5%, uncolored and non chill-filtered! The nose is softly sweet somewhat reminiscent of Craigellachie. There is a level of brightness but the kind I see fading over time. A bridge of vanilla frosting overlaps this misty Japanese style smoke. Banana with a strong malty character is there and cooked biscuits. Oak mingled sweetness on the finish and the grain showing itself on the tail end bringing a slight oiliness. Finish lasts longer than I predicted. Add a few drops of water and this brings more toffee on the finish. It’s super nice. Even at $110 I like this and see it improving over time. I prefer this to Hibiki Harmony even though it’s a different style blend. I like the complexity of this and the fact it’s uncolored and non chill filtered. I don’t think Harmony is worth $100. I think this is. 91/100
About this bottle
Blended by Ichiro Akuto. Not at all new to alcohol, Ichiro’s family has been making sake in the town of Chichibu since the early 1600’s. In the 1980’s the family began producing whisky in Hanyu, using water from Chichi for the mash. However with the collapse of the whisky market, prospects looked bleak. Set back yet determined, Ichiro returned to Chichibu in 2007, purchasing a plot of land and having the Chichibu distillery up and running within a year. This whisky is made from both malt and grains as the name suggests but the real surprise is that this is a blend of whiskies from five different countries: Canada, Ireland, Scotland, the US, and Japan, the latter from Ichiro's own malt and grain whiskies.
How it tastes
Measured across 14 flavor axes. Tap a note to find other bottles that lead with it.
Reviews
Showing the most detailed of 50 parsed reviews.
This review is for the limited edition. Nose: Very fruity (fresh apple juice, floral, dried peaches), then malty (oak and barley), then the slightest hint of cigar smoke poking in here and there. Taste: Malt (plain cereal), slight sweetness (vanilla), medium spice, slight metallic/iodine note at the tail end. A dash of water really opened up the sweetness. The fruity notes from the nose appear briefly, followed by characteristic bourbon (caramel and vanilla) and toffee notes. Finish: A warm spice (black pepper), plus a long bitter/metallic note. I really enjoyed fruitiness of the nose. The palate was missing the huge fruity notes on the nose initially, but really opened up with some water. The finish left a little to be desired as there were not many lingering flavors from the palate. The bitter/metallic note I got at the finish was off-putting.
An elegant, 'Worldwide Blended Japanese Whisky by Ichiro Akuto for Hanyuin Distillery in Japan made with a combination of Single Malts & grain Whiskies from around the globe married at the Chichibu Distillery. It has an aromatic birth with notes of peach, dried apricot, butterscotch, vanilla cream, citrus zest, synthetic bananas, lemon zest, granola & gooey malt; while a balanced life adds notes of toffee, barley malt, gingerbread, tropical fruits, honeyed pipe tobacco leaves, roasted chestnut, lemongrass & freshly cut hay; that led to a spicy death of medium length with notes of vanilla, citrus zest, black pepper & dried tropical fruits. December 2020 / August 2022 / January 2024
creamy sweetness, strawberry apple fruits, pleasant nosing, sugar, caramel mid pep 3 delicate but you get increasing heat on fruity and sugary, caramel, sugar, honey lightness and easy to drink 2.5 (mark down for the lack of complexity) low sustain oaky 2.25 2.5 imagine this is a good one for the girls and a good addition to the bar for jap whisky sweetness, cream, grape, mid high pep, apple pear, slight dryness 2.5 sweetness and creamy, candy sweetness, smoothness and ease to drink.. woody oaky at the tail end 2.75 finish slight sustain, oaky and little smoke 2.25 2.5
A very, nice, smooth, if not particularly extraordinary whiskey. It’s actually pretty impressive Ichiro was able to blend 5 whiskies from five countries in a way that feels like a coherent whole, but at the same time while this whiskey is a fine sipper, no one quality or flavor stands out, though there are some generally pleasant banana and tropical fruit flavors most notable.
My first venture into Japanese malts and very interesting. A fairly smooth start with a little warmth but nothing over the top. That gently fades and some frankly unidentifiable flavors come forth but nothing i can distinctly say takes charge. Maybe a hint of apple far into the tasting… meh…
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