Tag Archives: Ichiro’s Malt Card Series

Ichiro’s Malt Four of Hearts 1st Cask Hogshead 2nd Cask French Oak Cognac 2000-2011 11YO 59.2%abv

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Nose: Red grapes, cherry cream, floral, macadamias, orange slices, some leather and sweet tobacco. Quite mild for cask strength.
Palate: Belies the gentleness of the nose with plenty of warming oak spices. Orange slices, sweet tobacco, leather, some oak tannins, licorice, cinnamon, barley, mustard, peanut butter, raisins. Water ramps up the warm oak spices.
Finish: Oranges, vanilla, some oak tannins, dried mango slices. Water lengthens the finish with lashings of juicy and tangy citrus fruits, the peanut butter and menthol.
Last Word: Up there with the better whiskies in the Card Series. Would have cracked a 90 score if the nose was bolder.

Rating: 89/100

Japanese Whisky News – Insanity Prevails as 8 Grand Worth of Ichiro’s Malt Card Series Sells for Almost 1 Million at Auction

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Ichiro's Malt Card Series

Once again proof positive that wealth and insanity are not mutually exclusive. A NOT full set of Ichiro’s Malt Card Series Whisky sold at yesterdays Bonham’s Auction in Hong Kong. Buyer paid US$917,000! To put this in perspective I would calculate the average price when these were sold retail and very slowly at the time, was about US$150 a bottle. A number of the first bottling’s were under 100 bucks a pop and the most expensive when released was the Monochrome Joker which I paid $AUD350 for. My simple maths is that if you bought the 54 bottling’s that sold at this auction when first released at average US$150 a bottle = US$8,100. If you think that average bottling price is inaccurate then you weren’t around at the time. I still have 8 of the bottling’s and sold another 5 so still have all the records of what I paid back in the day. I also used to have a link the Ichiro’s Venture Whisky website and you would be shocked to see how cheap these were when viewed in black and white.
Fact of the matter, the Hanyu distillery closed because no one was buying the stuff, though they certainly weren’t an island in that respect for Japanse Whisky. IMO the provenance of these bottling’s is only rarity. There are some excellent one’s and some average one’s, so it isn’t based on these all being stella tasting whiskies. Looking through Whiskybase the average bottle rating is about 88/100 which is still commendable but hardly commensurate with the price based on the juice alone. Only one bottling actually hit 91/100 and no Card Series Bottling is in the top 5 rated Hanyu on Whiskybase. Another thing is Ichiro san bottled these with Playing Card Labels as a marketing tactic. It was not based on these being the pick of the litter from the remaining casks. So, if these were not a set but just had regular labels, how much would they be worth. A shit load less I’d venture. I’ve tasted and own a number of other Hanyu that are the equal or better than some of the Card Series and although still expensive these day’s, nothing like the cost of a bottle from the Card Series. What price a simple label!!!.
If you wish to know what a true full set of 58 Ichiro’s Malt Card Series bottling’s constitutes it’s here.

The Japanese Whisky Review – 500 Japanese Whiskies Tasted!

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So what does it take for the average self funded Japanese Whisky Aficionado to reach 500 Japanese Whiskies tasted? 10 years, being in the right place at the right time, spending time on the ground in Japan making contacts, unwavering enthusiasm and a whole lot of hard earned cash!
How hard was it? That is a story of 2 parts. The “Glory” days between May 2009 (the first time I visited Japan) and roughly 2014 and the leaner times after that of rocketing prices and limited availability.
Getting to 100 was relatively easy. 200 wasn’t that hard either. From memory even 300 wasn’t too bad. Beyond that it felt like hitting a brick wall and if your’e like me and just an average middle class Joe, you already know the reasons why. I won’t rehash here recent Japanese Whisky history and why prices are so high and stock levels/variety so limited, there are enough stories on the net using a simple Google search.
The majority of Japanese Whiskies I’ve tasted have been drinkable at the very least all the way up to stellar. There have been some total duds of coarse which is to be expected.
Favorite distillery style is from Yoichi and I admire Yamazaki and Chichibu for innovation and at least when you can get them, variety. Most often imbibed daily dram is Nikka From the Barrel.
Most underrated distillery in Miyagikyo and most overrated is Karuizawa. I’ve tasted about the same amount of bottling’s from Mars Whisky as I have Karuizawa and overall I’d choose Mars any day. I’ll throw in a number of Hanyu Card series as overrated at least for the price they command these days.
For those wondering if there will ever be a return to the “Glory” days of cheap prices, easy access and lots of variety I’m going to have to be the bearer of bad tiding’s. As long as supply exceeds demand no way! Not only that, even when the big players Suntory and Nikka bring a variety of age statement whiskies back on line they have repeatedly said they see their products as premium. This means they will continue to charge commensurate premium prices compared to say, Scottish whiskies of the same age and availability. I do look forward however to the 3 year old bottling’s that will be released in 2020 from the newer distilleries such as Akkeshi, Shizuoka, Kanosuke and Mars Tsunuki. 2020 will also be banner year for Chichibu who will release their first official 10 year old whisky.
Finally I’ll list 25 Japanese Whiskies that aren’t daily drams that I would always love to have a stash of. These are whiskies that left an immediate impression and haven’t failed since.
Hibiki 21
The Hakushu SM Aged 15 Years 500ml 56%
The Hakushu Single Malt Sherry Cask #9O 50021 1989 TWE 62%
Suntory Owners Cask Hakushu 2000-2011 #EL 41914 Smoky & Bitter 57%
Suntory Owners Cask Bar Hermit Private Stock Yamazaki 1996 Sherry Butt 13YO #AX70004 60%
The Cask of Yamazaki 1993 Heavily Peated #3Q70047 62%
Suntory Blended Whisky For The Peninsula Tokyo 2014 43% Sherry Casks of Yamazaki, Hakushu, Chita
Miyagikyo Single Cask 1996 16YO Sherry Cask 60% #118913
Taketsuru Pure Malt 35YO
Yoichi Single Cask 1994 18YO #400749 Warehouse 25 62%
Yoichi Single Cask 1988-2013 23YO Warehouse 25 #100212 62%
Yoichi Peaty and Salty 1989 12YO Single Cask #251224 63.3%abv
Yoichi 20
Karuizawa 1992 #6978 62.8%
Mars Moltage 3 and 25 28YO 46%
Mars Malt Gallery 1985 23YO #324 American White Oak 58%
Mars Komagatake Single Cask Vintage 1989 23YO 63.5% Cognac Limousin Cask #1060
Mars Komagatake　27 years old Sherry Casks / American White Oak Cask 46%
Kawasaki Single Grain Sherry Butt 1982 28YO # 7414 65.5%
Chichibu Mizunara Puncheon Cask # 89 2008-2017 58.2%
Ichiro’s Malt 8 of Clubs 1988 23YO #7100 57.5
Ichiro’s Malt The Game 2000 9YO 61.2%
Ichiro’s Malt SC for Takashimaya 1991 18YO 46.5%
The Single Malt Chichibu Golden Horse 12-year-old, Bottle # 0263 2008 56%
Ichiro’s Malt and Grain Kiyosato Field Ballet 26th Anniversary Bottling 48%abv

Bar Te – Airigh Chichibu Japan – Japanese Whisky

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IMG_1693 (1)-3After 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.

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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.

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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!

Ichiro’s Malt Hanyu 8 of Hearts 1991-2008 Oloroso Sherry Butt #9303 56.8%abv

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8 of HeartsNose: 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

Ichiro’s Malt Card Series Full Set Of 58 Bottles For Sale At Auction

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Ichiro's Malt Card Series
Offered for sale for the first time is a full set of 58 bottles of Ichiro’s Malt Card Series as part of Sotheby’s Hong Kong Finest and Rarest Wine Auction this Friday and Saturday 29-30th of September.
For those who are trying to figure out how a deck of cards is 58 it’s not. Just so happens that back in the day Ichiro Akuto bottled and sold a about a quarter of the whisky from 4 different single casks then later bottled and sold the rest of the whisky from these casks. The casks used became the Ace of Spades, the Queen of Hearts, the King of Diamonds and the Jack of Clubs hence double bottling’s of these cards and the total number in the series as 58.
Price guide for the full set of Ichiro’s Malt Card Series is from a ridiculously low US$256,000 to US$512,000.
As a set of 54 cards without the 4 doubles sold at auction a couple of years ago for US480,000 I personally expect the upper range of the price guide to not only be reached but exceeded.
So if your a wealthy whisky collector here is a rare opportunity, for the rest of us we have a few days to win the lottery.

**Update: Lot sold for US$455,000 so it seems prices have stabilized or even declined a little.

Japanese Whisky World Record Auction Prices August 2015

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Karuizawa1960.jpgTonight at Bonham’s Auction Hong Kong a world record price was achieved for a single bottle of Japanese whisky. The bottling, a Karuizawa 1960 52YO Cask #5627 one of 41 bottles. Price with buyers premium was approximately US118,000, Euro105,000, GBP77,000. Original Price was GBP12,500 back in 2013. Also as reported in a recent post, an almost complete collection of Ichiro’s Card series was up for sale. This lot sold with buyers premium for approximately USD490,000, Euro436,000, GBP319,000. Obviously this is also a record for a single combined lot of Japanese whisky. I reckon that they would have cost no more than around USD10,000 if you were lucky to buy them all at retail prices. Share markets in turmoil…… seems at least for now we have a new ‘investment’ winner, or like gold, a bulwark during hard economic times?

Ichiro’s Malt Card Series – (Almost) Complete Series For Sale

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ichiros-malt-cardsWell the catalogue is out for Bonham’s Hong Kong auction on August the 28th 2015. Masses of Japanese whisky on offer but the highlight would have to be an entire Ichiro’s Malt Card Series being sold as one lot. I say entire but to my mind the collection is not complete. There were 2 bottling’s of the Ace of Spades and this collection has only one of them. Yes they were from the same cask but the release was staggered, one bottling being 55%abv and one being 55.7%abv. Obviously this also means one spent a little longer in the cask so is a bit older in whisky terms and as it was aged in oak the profile will be slightly different. Also I believe the auction catalogue for the bottling of the Ace of Spades being sold contains an error. They say it is the bottling 113 of 300 but this should have an ABV of 55.7% not the 55% listed in the catalogue. The first series of 122 bottles(in total) was the 55% version.
The catalogue estimate, HK$ 1.8 million – 2.4 million = USD$232,000 – $310,000
Gulp, not to shabby for a collection of whiskies that if you paid retail would not have cost more than USD10,000 in total. The cheapest bottling was about 60 bucks and I paid about 350 bucks for the most expensive, the Joker Monochrome. Also hard to believe is that this upswing in value happened in less than 10 years.

***Note: I have already been updated and I apologize for any discrepancies in my original post but the are 4 double cards in the series. Ultimately this extends to the fact that the series for sale is not complete. Thanks to Ulf Buxrud for the clarification.
Ichiro’s Malt Full Card Series