Ichiro Malt & Grain Whisky

A cult-favourite world blend from the king of independent Japanese distillers, Ichiro Akuto. In addition to whisky from his own Chichibu distillery, it also includes whiskies from America, Canada, Scotland and Ireland. As it says on the label, this truly is ‘world blended whisky’ and a great, accessible way to discover what enthusiasts love about Akuto’s approach to whisky.

Chichibu is a rising star in Japanese Whiskey, but I wouldnt be surprised if youve never heard of the distillery. Its nowhere near the same size as Suntory (Yamazaki, Hakushu, Hibiki) or Nikka (Miyagikyo, Yoichi).

But across the world, their Japanese whiskeys, as well as some world-blended whiskeys, already command top dollar, like 4 figures top dollar. Unlike those releases though, this Chichibu Ichiros Malt and Grain is one you can easily find on shelves in Japan, and occasionally in the US. Its their least expensive offering.

Chichibu Distillery, located in Chichibu, Saitama an hour and a half to two hours away from central Tokyo, was founded in the mid-2000s. But unlike other craft distilleries that start from scratch and often source whiskey from other distilleries to bridge the gap, Chichibu has a unique lineage.

Long story short Chichibu is unique in that it also has some older stock to play with from the shuttered distillery (possibly disilleries) the family used to own. Im not going to attempt to retell the founders backstory (its interesting), so check out Nomunication and Whisky Analysis posts on the matter.