Category Archives: Chichibu

Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu Shinanoya 5th Anniversary Private Cask 2009-2012 3YO Chibidaru Cask #291 61%abv

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Nose: Light for 61%abv and not particularly complex. Some vanilla, caramel, apple pie, acetone. A clay like note and a touch of peanut butter. Makes you work hard. Picks up with water added with some teak and a savoury BBQ note.
Palate: Much better here. Icing sugar, vanilla, caramel, oranges, mango slices, sweet peanut butter. Pepper, candy cane, peanut oil. A few sips in and some crystalised ginger. Toffee and more of the candy cane and apple pie with water added. Medium bodied.
Finish: Peanut butter, peppermint tea, candy cane. Fades quickly sipping neat but lengthens with water added.
Last Word: A really early example of a Single Cask Chichibu. Decent enough, but there are better example out there even if none of them are worth anything like the secondary market prices they fetch.

Rating: 82/100

Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu MDC for Bar Te-Airigh 2008 10YO Bourbon Barrel #180 60.8%

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Nose: Barley, vanilla wafers, banana, apple pie, dried pears, almond flakes. Dried mango slices, demerara sugar, orange peels. Sweet and mellow. With water some wild flower pot pourri.
Palate: Starts with a big hit of spices both hot and baking. Barley, apple pie, vanilla, butter, fresh baked scones. Oak, custard, tinned pears, apple sauce, olive oil. Water turns up the hot spices and oak and adds some orange juice. Medium bodied.
Finish: Custard, apple sauce, stewed rhubarb, oak, pennies. Water doubles the length and ramps up the oaky dryness and those metallic pennies.
Last Word: It will be interesting to see how the team at Chichibu manages their older stock as there is already some strong oak character even at 10 years old. Prefer this one sans H2O. A sweet, malty, spicy delight. The label is a drawing by the daughter of the owner of Bar Te-Airigh.

Rating: 90/100

Chichibu Chibidaru 2013-2018 Casks 2408 & 2410 63%abv

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Nose: Barley, lemon cough drops, sawdust, vanilla, custard, malt, orange zest, some acetone. With water oak and more citrus.
Palate: Icing sugar, sweetened lemon, white chocolate, orange zest, toffee. With water fig paste, tangy citrus, mint chocolate.
Finish: Long and sweet on melon, vanilla, icing sugar. Water addds length, some warming spices, malt and menthol.
Last: Best with water that adds complexity and length to the finish.

Rating: 87/100

Chichibu For E-Power 2012 6YO Bourbon Barrel #2139 62.8%abv

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Nose: Butter, malt, dried apples, pears, cantaloupe, apple pie crust, pepper. With water lemon merangue, green apple peels, apricot jam.
Palate: Pecans, dates, apples, vanilla, butter, malt, marzipan, fermented pears, lemon zest, limes. With water lemon merangue pie. Full bodied.
Finish: White pepper, white chocolate, green apples, lemon zest, lemon merangue pie. Some late apricot jam. Good length especially with water added.
Last Word: Nicely balanced between sweeter notes and some citrus bitterness. A very good Chichibu!

Rating: 88/100

Chichibu Single Cask Cream Sherry Hogshead #2633 2010 7YO 59.6%abv

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Nose: Quite savoury plus cashews, incense, custard apples, pepper, nutmeg, peppermint, marsala, hint of struck match. Complex! With water some grilled pork.
Palate: Cherries, seared orange slices, cashews, marmalade, pepper, chili flakes, marzipan. With water raisins, sweet baking spices and gummy bears. Full bodied.
Finish: Savoury, baked pork belly, cashews, cherries, gummy bears.
Last Word: Great complexity! One of the best Chichibu Whiskies I’ve tasted.

Rating: 91/100

Chichibu Single Cask Bourbon Barrel #2243 2012-2019 62.5%abv

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Nose: Crisp barley, pepper, lemon zest, lychees, green apples, nutmeg, vanilla custard, a little insence. A floral element with water added.
Palate: Barley, nutmeg, Sara Lee apple crumble, vanilla, pepper, dark chocolate, lots of malt. Water adds toffee, lemon squash soda, juicy oranges. Medium bodied.
Finish: Malt, apple crumble, balanced oak. Becomes quite ashy and then a mineral/metallic element.
Last Word: For lovers of malty whiskies. Really hits is stride with some water which adds complexity and lengthens the finish.

Rating: 89/100

Chichibu For Whisky Talk Fukuoka 2018 8YO Ex Hanyu Cask #% 62.3%abv

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Nose: Rich! Peaches, apricots, dates, scones with strawberry jam. Yeasty, hoppy, oak staves that have been soaking in whisky maturing in a ex beer cask.
Palate: Strawberries, stawberry ice cream, vanilla wafers, dates, chocolate, Hokkaido baked cheese tarts. With water raisin toast and brandy snaps. Full bodied.
Finish: Sweet on baking spices, hops, yeast, malt & vanilla wafers.
Last Word: A quite different style of Chichibu and no less appealing for it. Excellent!

Rating: 90/100

Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu for Shinanoya & Highlander Inn 2010 6YO Bourbon Barrel #710 61.3%abv

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Ichiros malt chichibu for shinanoya & highlander innNose: Initially acetone. Cinnamon and apple pie, fresh cut timber, pears, vanilla, With water there is a sweet bubblegum note. Not particularly complex but it’s fresh and lively.
Palate: Huge alcohol punch without water. For myself, needed a fair dash of water to open up. Then we have pickled ginger, fermented blueberries, tart apples, kiwi fruit, cranberries and butterscotch.
Finish: For a young whisky quite some cask influence. Apple sauce, leather satchels, kiwi fruit, tart red berries, black tea like tannins, pepper and butter menthols.
Last Word: Bit unruly and lacks in complexity but there is no doubt about the quality of the distillation.

Rating: 84/100

Chichibu The Peated 2018 10th Anniversary 55.5%abv

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P1050419Nose: Vanilla, quite floral, clay pots, earthy peat, hessian, hay bales, toffee, lemon juice, brine, hint of antiseptic band-aid.
Palate: Bonfire smoke, ash, Australian bush after a wild fire. Butter, eucalyptus oil, burnt vanilla, quite herbaceous. Brine, some peppery spice. Popping candy, not so much the candy but the popping sensation when your tongue smacks your palate. Water brings out more vanilla, the lemon, almond flakes, cafe late and mint dark chocolate.
Finish: Ash, black coffee, Lindt dark chocolate 90% cocoa, bonfire smoke, dried cigar leaf, vanilla. Water makes the coffee more late and adds in the hessian and hale bales from the nose.
Last Word: Would have said this before, but I’ve never had Heavily Peated Chichibu let me down yet going all the way back to the New Born. This is no exception!

Rating: 88/100 and quite outstanding for the young age!

Chichibu ePower HH Mizunara Head #1490 NB Hard Charred #1683 3YO 61.1%abv

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850_8041Nose: Toffee, raisin toast, rhubarb stalks, nutmeg, preserved peaches, red grapes, brandy snaps.
Palate: Raisins, honey, toffee, red grapes, burnt toast, cherry chocolate, vanilla wafers. Water adds Brazil nuts, some hot spices and choc mint.
Finish: Red grapes and vanilla wafers. Longer with water as the hot spices linger but in a controlled way, some citrus tang and choc mint.
Last Word: Not a session whisky but an interesting Chichibu to revisit every now and again. A couple of points better whisky with water added.

Rating: 85/100

Chichibu Blackadder 2010 5 YO Cognac Cask #745 61.4 %abv

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850_8032Nose: Nutmeg, pepper, mixed herbs, raisins, apple cider, grapefruit, lemon peel, yeast. Water adds pears and a wildflower note.
Palate: Overwhelmingly hot at first and quite palate numbing. Once settled there’s the apple cider, grapefruit, lemon peel and nutmeg. A decent splash of water brings the hot spices to heel and adds a buttery element, creamy nuts like macadamia’s and some tanginess and overall far more satisfying.
Finish: Starts with apple cider then moves towards a tequila like pepper, spearmint candy, tobacco leaf and nougat. With water the yeast makes a return.
Last Word: Neat the palate starts unbalanced on the hot side. Fortunately this can be tamed with the addition of water. The finish is the highlight for me.

Rating: 84/100

Chichibu For Tokyo International Bar Show 2015 French Oak Cask #2360 62.3%abv

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P1050314Nose: Cinnamon coated Danish apple pastry, apricot jam, ginger bread, toffee’d oak, pouch tobacco. A salty maritime not like fresh shellfish. After a while a floral note, even more so with water added.
Palate: OK, while there is some big spicy punch on the palate there is zero burn on the way down which speaks of quality distillation. There is the Danish apple pastry, Krispy Kreme original glazed donuts. The spices are a cross between baking spices of cinnamon and nutmeg and some ginger and pepper heat. The peppery spice then mixes in with some salt. Water brings out Maltesers and tangy orange.
Finish: Starts out with the the salt and pepper combo, nutmeg, Maltesers, then leather and pouch tobacco. This finish is loooooong, the pepper and salt bounces back after 5 minutes with a vengeance with just enough toffee/malt to balance. A Yoichi like Chichibu in many ways. Impressive!
Last Word: This is the most complex Chichibu I’ve tried and amazingly so for only 6 years old. My new favorite Chichibu! Recommended!

Rating: 90/100

Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu The Peated 2016 4YO 54.5%abv

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P1050289Nose: Antiseptic, diesel, smoked ham hocks, fresh potato skins, stewed apples, currants, soy sauce, soot, apricots. An approachable nose.
Palate: Big hot alcohol hit for ‘only’ 54.5%abv. Paprika and chili’s. Soot, sump oil, toffee, nougat, lemon meringue pie. Water adds. salt, orange sherbet, Brazil nuts, bitter dark chocolate.
Finish: Iodine, soot, antiseptic, nougat and menthol.
Last Word:The palate is a bit unbalanced with the amount of alcoholic heat. Water does quell the fire but you need a fair splash. The nose is really nice and the finish has decent length. Overall it’s still a solid young peated whisky but not as good as the 2015 version.

87/100

Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu 2010-2015 Fino Cask #2626 59.2%abv

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P1050282Nose: Granny Smith apples, dried pears, maple syrup, malt, dried mixed peel, some wet moss and a small acetone note. Water brings out a zinfandel note plus toffee and white flowers.
Palate: Quite malty, crunchy fresh apples, salt, maple syrup on toasted crumpets and nutmeg. With water we have the zinfandel, chili heat and some nuttiness. Has a nice clean quality to the spirit.
Finish: Grapefruit, fermented pears, nutmeg, pepper, a little dry oak and leather.
Last Word: Has some youthful elements but this is quality distillation and cask selection.

Rating: 87/100

Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu Chibidaru 2010 -2014 53.5%

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BAL_3880.jpgNose: Dried pears, apricots, fresh cut timber, hay, stewed apples, maple syrup and custard apple.
Palate: Stewed apples with currants, custard apples, dried pears, hay, bran, malt, fresh cut timber, Arnott’s savory shape biscuits, maple syrup on toast.
Finish: Custard apples, malt, pears, hay and the savory shapes.
Last Word: Not stellar by any means but the spirit is still of very good quality for the age.

Rating: 84/100

Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu The Peated 2015 62.5%abv

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BAL_3886.jpgNose: Ash, coal fire, earthy peat, lemon infused peat, Werther’s Originals, vinegar, butter menthols, fermented pears, brine, sawdust, pork crackling.
Palate: First thing that strikes me is how smooth this is at 3 years old and 62.5%. I don’t hesitate to say phenomenal. Lots of palate coating licorice, sweet peat, earthy peat, coal, pipe tobacco, leather, lemon merengue, fermented pears, pink grapefruit, butter menthols, lapsang souchong, chewy malt, pork crackling, dark chocolate.
Finish: Lingers on in a beautifully balanced way never too sweet, dry or bitter. You can add coffee with cream to the peat, licorice, dark chocolate, lapsang souchong, tobacco and coal.
Last Word: I’m not a massive peat head by any means but this heavily peated whisky is a total joy. Balanced, smooth, complex and not one of those heavily peated whiskies trying to hide a multitude of sins under a heavily peated bushel. This is an instant classic in my book and I could not envision a 3YO whisky being any better. Bravo Akuto-san!

Rating: 89/100

Chichibu for TIBS/WhiskyLive Tokyo 2013 2009-2013 Bourbon Barrel #422 61.8%abv

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Chichibu WL 2013 2Nose: Fermented pears, dried pears, green apples, apple sauce, barley sugar, lemon lozenges, bread dough, sawdust.
Palate: Big and fiery without water but doesn’t scream youth. With a fair hit of water, pear gummy bears, fermented pears, lemon sherbet, sawdust, lemon lozenges, nutmeg, apples sauce, whole meal, bran, corn flakes, cloves.
Finish: Lots of pear and cereal notes, with some pepper, cloves, barley sugar, nutmeg, corn oil.
Last Word: Tried this at TIBS/WhiskyLive Tokyo last year. Too many drams that day to form a strong opinion, so I’m happy to have been able to spend some time with a large sample of this one. I’d have to say that overall, this is a fine Chichibu and the quality belies it’s youth. If this was a Scottish whisky I’d think Glen Moray 12 with balls!

Rating: 86/100

*Thanks to Clint over at Whiskiesrus for the sample. You can read Clint’s review here.

Chichibu On The Way 58.5% abv

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d7k_7561Nose: Dried pears, malt, bran, varnish, caramel, popcorn. Quite oaky for one so young. Some leather with water added. A little incense with a lot of water added
Palate: Quite fiery without water. Dried pears, malt, bran, whole meal, salt, popcorn, caramel, oak, mango, cayenne pepper. Even with water this is one hot whisky.
Finish: Without water the overriding impression is peppery heat and some dry oak. Needs a lot of water to find hints of the mizunara influence(incense).
Last Word: One whisky that may have been better suited bottled at a lower abv.

Rating: 80/100

Chichibu Chibidaru 2009-2013 53.5%abv

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2009-2013-chibidaru-4yo-53-5-700ml

Nose: Malt, toffee, honey, pollen, tobacco, white pepper.
Palate: Follows the nose quite closely and adds butter, ginger, bran and oak.
Finish Chewy toffee, ginger, nutmeg, bran and some drying tobacco.
Last Word: Not particularly complex but tasty enough and like many Chichibu, belies it’s young age with no residual new make notes that I can discern.

Rating: 83/100

Chichibu Port Pipe 2009-2013 54.5%abv

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2009-2013-port-pipe-4yo-54-5-700ml

Nose: Strawberries. White chocolate, light port, zinfandel, young plums, nutmeg, maple syrup a briny element, wood stained oak. Immediately young in nature though.
Palate: Quite of lot of pepper and nutmeg. White plums, zinfandel, white chocolate, light port, maple syrup, a little soapiness to the mouth feel. Again quite youthful.
Finish: Short on white plums, nutmeg and zinfandel.
Last word: The young age shines through in this one. Not in a base spirit kind of way, but a lack of richness/fullness to the flavors.

Rating: 80/100
You can find another impression of this one at Whiskies R US