Bottle Stats

Produced by Chichibu Distillery, imported by Adelphi
Japanese single malt whisky
Full maturation in a refill ex-bourbon hogshead
7 years old
Distilled in 2013, bottled in 2023 (stored in a neutral vessel from 2020 until bottling)
ABV is 57.8%
Single cask #3090
1 of 210 bottles

Distillery Key Facts

Chichibu Distillery was founded in 2007 and started production in 2008.
In 2008, Chichibu was the first independent distillery to open in Japan in 30+ years.
Located in Chichibu City, Saitama Prefecture, approximately 100km (62mi) northwest of Tokyo, Japan
Ichiro Akuto is the owner, distillery manager, and master distiller. His family has been making alcohol for 21 generations. His ancestor, Akuto Shuzo, was making sake in Chichibu as early as 1625.
Two distilleries exist on-site, as well as a cooperage and floor maltings.
- Original Distillery:
  - A small and compact distillery, with an annual production capacity of 60,000 litres
  - 2,400 litre mash tun is stirred by hand with a wooden paddle
  - Two 2,000 litre pot stills made by Forsyths with indirect heating
  - Eight 3,177 litre washbacks made of Japanese Mizunara oak
  - 4-day fermentation period
  - Using mostly local barley
- New Distillery:
  - Constructed in April 2018 with production starting in July 2019
  - Annual production capacity of 240,000 litres
  - Five washbacks made of French oak, with room to add more
  - Wash still (10,000 litres) and spirit still (7,000 litres) are the same shape as the original distillery (but MUCH larger)
  - The stills are made by Forsyths and are direct-fired
  - Using mostly imported barley from England and Germany
- Cooperage:
  - Produces 4-5 Mizunara casks per week
  - All casks are heavily charred
  - Mizunara oak is mostly sourced from the far-north in Hokkaido, with a very small portion sourced locally in Chichibu
Combined, the two distilleries have seven warehouses (six dunnage, one racked)
All peated barley is imported from Scotland. The majority of unpeated barely is imported from England and Germany, with approximately 10% being sourced locally in Chichibu.
Angel's share is approximately 3-5%
There is no visitor center at Chichibu Distillery – visits are by appointment only

Why Chichibu?

A personal anecdote:

My first taste of whisky was in Japan on the penultimate night of 2015. The whisky was a humble, approachable Suntory “The Chita” single grain at 43%, and the venue was the tiny, now-legendary whisky venue, Bar Zoetrope in Shinjuku, Tokyo.

On that cold, bewildering, entertaining night in Tokyo, I found that I liked my whisky. I wanted more.

My home at that time was in Portland, Oregon, and when I returned from Japan I started trying nerdy bourbons and American whiskeys. Japanese whiskies were prohibitively expensive and, for me at that time, they lacked the big flavour hooks that a fledgling whisk(e)y drinker often demands. Despite my initial good experience, Japanese whisky was apparently for somebody else – not for me.

A few years later, I moved to Scotland, and I quickly ventured down the single malt rabbit hole. My palate evolved, and I came to appreciate subtler flavours across the broad spectrum of distilled spirits.

One day, on a dreich, quiet afternoon in October 2021, I was back at The Highlander Inn in Craigellachie. I'd been having a good chat with bar manager, Billy, when he was handed five mysterious vials of whisky from a member of the hospitality team. The samples were from the venue's well-known properitor, Tatsuya Minagawa, who was not present that day, but he'd left a directive for Billy to try each of the whiskies blind, rate them, and provide feedback. There was no other information given, other than they were cask samples of Chichibu single malt whisky.

Despite having largely ignored Japanese whisky for years, I was aware of the fervor surrounding Chichibu. It was rarer than hen's teeth and, much like other Japanese whiskies, it was prohibitively expensive and unavailable. I'd never sought it out, and I hadn't tried it. Even still, I was excited on Billy's behalf. A cask sample is a cask sample, after all, and a blind tasting is never dull for a whisky nerd.

Billy, however, was getting busier by the minute as dinnertime approached, and the cask samples remained untouched for quite a while. After running around, tending to the increasingly busy pub, Billy beckoned me back over to the bar and discretely asked for some help.

Could I please provide a less-hurried, second opinion on a blind tasting of the Chichibu cask samples? Um, YASSS PLZ!

I'll never know exactly what the whiskies were, but we sampled them and speculated together during the fleeting gaps in Billy's busy night. Our best guesses for the five samples were (1) Pedro Ximénez influenced, (2) a lone peated expression in an unknown quiet cask, (3) refill ex-bourbon, (4) first-fill ex-bourbon, and (5) Mizunara influenced. All had such wonderful viscosity. All were incredibly engaging.

At long last, Japanese whisky had hooked me again! Chichibu specifically was the hook.

I've tried a handful of Chichibu expressions since – mostly at The Highlander Inn – and I now hold the opinion that most of the hype surrounding Chichibu is justified. The prices? Perhaps not. But, the quality is most definitely there. Chichibu distillate, for me, is accutely effervescent. It lights up my senses, particularly with ex-bourbon expressions. On the rare occassion when I've savoured the last drops of a dram of Chichibu, it always leaves me wanting more.

All that said, I've never been able to actually buy a Chichibu until just recently. I was lucky enough to find an Adelphi Chichibu 7yr at retail pricing earlier this year, as well as a Thompson Bros Kanosuke. This pair became the foundation of my “Pacific Rim” tasting.

The Adelphi Chichibu 7 year old single cask is a refill ex-bourbon hogshead, bottled at cask strength, all of which should allow the distillate characteristics to shine brightly. I hope that quintessential Chichibu effervescence will be there to greet us.

Distillery Location

Chichibu, Saitama, Japan

Additional Reading

There's an excellent article by Thomas over at Whisky Saga about his visit in 2019, as well as another article from his first visit in 2014. Both articles are loaded with details and great photos from his experiences at Chichibu. Well worth a look!