Hey friends,
In today’s video I chat about what’s coming up on the channel and review Ichiro’s Malt Double Distilleries Chichibu x Komagatake. So, do we get a winner when whiskies from two different Japanese Whisky producers are blended together? Lets find out! Thanks for watching : )
Kampai
Brian
Nose: Very Rich! Some classic strong Chichibu, malt, toffee, honey and apple pie/strudel notes. Banana, pineapple, cinnamon, dried mango and vanilla.
Palate: Wood spices and a rum like quality, I’m thinking Jamaica or Guyana. Lots of tropical fruits, banana, mango, pineapple, passionfruit. The malt, honey, vanilla and apple pie remain but take a back seat to the tropical fruits. Pepper and garam masala. Spicier with water added.
Finish: Apple pie, butter, dried mango, banana, then goes all minty fresh plus some oak. After a couple of minutes the fruits are back. Very good length and the fruits are even juicier with water added.
Last Word: This is a World Blended Whisky, with Chichibu Malt and Grain Whisky from other countries. I find it quite wonderful and now my favorite World Blended Whisky from Ichiro-san.
Rating: 91/100
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Nose: 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
Palate: Fruit mince pie, plum sauce, currants, molasses, pumpernickel, sea spray, sherry, saddles bags, sweet pipe tobacco, cockles, caramel, vanilla, roses. Ever evolving!
Palate: Sherry, mixed nuts, orange juice, nutmeg, pepper, roses, peppermint, papaya, plum sauce, cherry cream filled chocolate, molasses, raisins.
Finish: Floral’s, macadamia’s, old leather, honey, marmalade, dried mango, peppermint, burnt eucalyptus.
Last Word: The ghosts of the flavors linger until the following day.
Rating: 92/100
*Note: A blend of Hanyu and Chicibu Single Malts and Kawasaki Single Grain Whisky.
Nose: 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!
The 2018 report was once again the most viewed post on the Japanese Whisky Review. Not surprising that given the Japanese Whisky drought, even more folks are keen to know where and when stuff is available. Comments were up by almost 200 on the 2017 report with 631 vs 433. A big shout out to all those who commented, especially the regulars!
I think we all know 2019 will be at least as tough buying Japanese Whisky in Japan as 2018 but every contribution counts so please keep the comments coming this year. I know from personal experience I was able to grab a number of bottles in 2018 that I would have missed out on if readers hadn’t advised of pending releases!
Kampai
Brian AKA Dramtastic
Nose: Black plums, black cherries, Flambeau bananas, brandy snaps, caramelized orange slices, toffee, raspberry jam, English breakfast tea, honey, saddle bags, floor polish, dried papaya and mango, rye spice, dusty oak barrels.
Palate: Pecan pie, toffee, rhubarb, vanilla, butter. There is some serious richness from the sherry cask and old Kawasaki single grain whisky. Quince jam, brown sugar, banana, coal, cherry cream, dried mango, nutmeg, sugared apple pie crust. A few drops of water adds a little pepper and ginger warmth, orange and sugared pink grapefruit.
Finish: Old oak barrels, cigar leaf, hint of pepper taste but not heat, toffee, cherry cream, bananas, quince jam, English breakfast tea with 1 sugar, bbq hotplate, minties. Water brings a return to warming pepper and ginger.
Great length. A whisky that leaves an impression of it’s essence over to the next day.
Last Word: I’ve had a number of these Ichiro’s Malt & Grain whiskies and if you have had the white label, premium or this years limited edition blue label this is a big step up in my opinion. You would have to go to one of the Kiyosato Field Ballet bottling’s that only have old Hanyu and Kawasaki whisky in the blend to go up a couple of ratings points and they are 10 x or more the price of this one. A rich indulgence and glad I also have another bottle.
Rating: 90/100
*Note: This is the make up of the blend
CHICHIBU malt matured in bourbon barrel
CHICHIBU malt matured in sherry cask
Some malt whiskies matured over 10 years from Scotland
KAWASAKI 33YO single grain whisky distilled in 1982
After blending, re-casked in bourbon barrel 8259 and matured for 2 years and 9 months.
After our tour of Chichibu Distillery had completed I asked if our tour guide Soma could recommend a good whisky bar in Chichibu town. He recommended Bar Te – Airigh and what an awesome recommendation it was. Now Soma called the bar Bar Cherry, as did Chichibu Brand Ambassador Yumi. I tried a google search that would translate Bar Te – Airigh to Bar Cherry but I could not find one.
Walking through the door into this awesome whisky cave felt immediately like home. Fantastic laid back vibe and friendly English speaking owner Takeshi Yokota. Bottles total around 600 of all types of whisky and about 150 of those are Japanese. Now 150 bottles of Japanese Whisky is tantalizing enough, but what makes Bar Cherry stand out from the crowd is probably the best selection of Chichibu Whisky available. Roughly half the bottles of Japanese Whisky are Chichibu, with so many being limited releases including the bars own bottling.
I also found the bar great value and there is no seating charge. I had full shots of 2 Single Cask Chichibu, 1 being from a sample bottle of Chichibu that will be a bar exclusive released in a few months. Also 1 Miyagikyo Limited Release and Scotch Malt Whisky Society 119.14 Yamazaki and Scotch Malt Whisky Society 120.7 Hakushu both from Spanish Oak Bota Corta casks. My girlfriend had 3 JD mixers and we both had ham and cheese toasties and 1 x homemade baked cheese cake. Total price was about AUD$195 or US$145. If you know the prices of full bottles of the ones I tasted you will know why I think this was great value.
Takeshi san also graciously lined up the 6 2018 New Pot from the Shizuoka Distillery for me to try gratis.
It takes around 70 minutes by Limited Express train to reach Chichibu from Ikebukuro Station Tokyo and the last 30 minutes or so winds its way through some lovely Japanese country side. As we did not know what time we would return from Chichibu we bought 1 way tickets in each direction. Total cost for the train tickets was about US$22 per person. All seats on the Limited Express trains are reserved so allow yourself enough time at Ikebukuro station to purchase these. There is a Limited Express office about 20 meters from the platform that the Chichibu LE train leaves from.
Bar Cherry is about a 15 minute walk or a few minutes by taxi from Chichibu Station. The address is 8-4 Daiichi-Isida Bld, Miyakawacho, Chichibu-shi Saitama 386-0046 Japan. Ph: 0494-24-8833.
Bar opens at 5PM and the last Limited Express back from Tokyo leave at around 10.25PM from memory. Takeshi san can advise of train times. We went on a Monday. Please check with the bar prior to visiting that they will be open on that day. You can send a message via the Facebook page.
I don’t pay a lot of attention to the non Japanese Whiskies as I focus on stuff relevant to Japanese Whisky Blog, but you can get an idea of other Whiskies by checking out the Facebook page or the bars blog.
I cannot recommend Bar Te – Airigh(Bar Cherry) highly enough and it is now my favorite Whisky Bar!
Our tour of the Chichibu Distillery covered the end to end process of making Chichibu Whisky. There are other whisky blog posts that have previously explained this process so I won’t cover this myself but I would encourage you to do a net search if you are interested in those finer details of Chichibu whisky production.
The following are simply facts that I personally found of interest or just my own musings.
Chichibu Distillery employs 20 dedicated and friendly staff. All are residents of the nearby Chichibu Town. No experience necessary, what is required is a strong work ethic and a passion to be a part of Ichiro’s Akuto’s vision for Chichibu Whisky. Most if not all employees approached Ichiro san directly to join the business, not from positions that were advertised.
Workers at the distillery consider it to be artisanal and are proud of the traditional hands on production methods. If you start in one area of whisky production, over time you will have opportunities to learn all areas of whisky production. Our guide for the tour Soma, has 8 years with the business and is one such employee who can now cover any area of production.
Chichibu currently produces 60,000 litres of Single Malt Whisky and bottles approximately 105,000 litres of whisky when the grain whisky from other countries is added for the blends.
The unique Mizunara washbacks were made by a company owned by an old school mate of Ichiro san. The wort does not spend enough time in the washbacks for any Mizunara flavors to be imparted, but the folks at Chichibu believe the bacteria that thrives inside the Mizunara Oak imbues the wort with certain qualities essential to the Chichibu house style. Chichibu Peated Malt is peated to 50PPM. They currently use 10% local barley but if possible will over time increase this to 100% local barley.
The onsite warehouse for barrel storage has a capacity of 1500 barrels and currently holds around 1100. Barrels are not rotated from top to bottom or vice versa so each has to be monitored very carefully due to the temperature variations from floor to ceiling.
Temperatures in Chichibu can range from +40C in summer to -10C in winter speeding up the maturation process considerably.
A myriad of cask types are used including ex shochu, tequila, rum, wine (both red and white) and french and local, beer, sherry, and Mizunara(Japanese Oak) casks coopered on site and chosen in person by Ichiro san and some of the employees, from Hokkaido Mizunara Oak trees.
The barrels used in the 2017 Limited release IPA cask finish started life with Chichibu whisky as the contents. The brewery wanted ex whisky barrels to store some of their beer so as to impart some whiskies flavors. Barrels from Chichibu were sent to the brewery and once the beer was bottled, they were sent back to Chichibu to further mature some Chichibu Single Malt Whisky.
The blend of the standard White Label Ichiro’s Malt & Grain contains whisky from 5 countries, Japan, US, Scotland, UK and Ireland. The premium versions of the Malt & Grain are basically blended from whisky from the same countries but matured for a longer period of time.
There are still some casks of Kawasaki Single Grain Whisky (I saw a few in the warehouse) and Hanyu Single Malt Whisky. Despite my light hearted pleading to Soma who ran our tour and Yumi the Chichibu Brand Manager, they both politely declined to tell me the number of casks, only that it was definitely a smallish quantity. Although ultimately a business that needs to make a profit, I personally hope that Ichiro san keeps at least 1 cask of both Kawasaki and Hanyu un-bottled for posterity’s sake.
Ichiro san maintains a relentless schedule that includes the overall running of the distillery and chief blender, attending trade shows, travelling the world choosing casks and whisky for blending from other distilleries and choosing the Mizunara Oak for barrels. My impression is that he could teach university classes on business networking.
At the end of the tour we were given the opportunity to taste a number of Chichibu Whiskies including three different Single Cask Chichibu only available at the distillery. A very solid bourbon cask, an interesting in a great way white wine cask and the highlight, a mizunara cask. Every one was a 90 point whisky in my book. All were very approachable even at more than 60%abv highlighting the quality of the distillation.
My only previous experience with whisky solely matured in Mizunara oak is from Yamazaki. The Yamazaki were delicate and elegant whiskies. The Chichibu was bold by comparison and I would have to say the most impressive I’ve tried. If you have read about the flavor profile that Mizunara Oak can impart incense/sandalwood/Japanese temples/coconut, this one has it in spades and a whole lot more going on as well. Unique and quite glorious, and when some day these are bottled for the general public will be absolute gold! These three were also the oldest Chichibu I have tasted at over 9 years old. If you think some of the young Chichibu are impressive we are all in for a treat when there is a 10 year old age statement Chichibu.
Speaking of which, I was advised by Soma that we may see some single cask 10 year old private Chichibu bottlings within the next year and the plan is for a 10YO age statement Chichibu to be released in 2020 to celebrate the Tokyo Olympic Games.
In 2019 a second Chichibu distillery is being built a few minutes from the original. It will be 5 times the size of the current distillery. Soma joked if they will be required to label the bottles as Blended Malt Whisky because even though close, both distilleries are not on the same site.
Finally I wish to thank Chichibu Brand Ambassador Yumi for facilitating our visit to the distillery, our expert guide Soma and of course Ichiro Akuto who bravely turned a dream into reality and the Whisky of World is a much richer place for it!
The traditional pagoda.
One of two Forthys copper pots stills.
Whisky stillman selecting the cut of head, heart and tails of the distillate.
Bottling, labeling and packing Chichibu style. With certain limited releases labels are still applied by hand.
Mizunara Oak Washbacks.
Barrels full of Chichibu Whisky goodness.
Yep, even Ichiro’s Malt & Grain gelato can be had at Chichibu Station. Of course I had one!
Nose: 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
Nose: 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
Nose: Cream sherry, raspberries, orange jus, marmalade, pine nettles, burnt popcorn, apricot jam, a little of the Hanyu earthiness.
Palate: There is a richness to the mouth feel and flavors. The cream sherry, Valencia oranges, raisins, peanut butter, rye, menthol, mild chili flakes.
Finish: Shortish on cream sherry, Valencia oranges, menthol, earthy.
Last Word: A more than decent Oloroso sherry butt with no off notes or flavors. Don’t expect to be blown away however for the 4 to 5 grand you will need to buy one.
Rating: 87/100
A question I have often been asked is how many casks of Karuizawa are left. Not an easy question to answer accurately up until now. Eric Huang one of the men behind salvaging the remaining casks of Karuizawa reveals the number and the final release date in a recent article in Forbes online here. I won’t bother quoting or paraphrasing as it’s just better to read the article for accuracy sake. It will also be of curiosity value only to most people including myself who have not been able or willing to buy a bottle of Karuizawa for years due to the exorbitant prices.