Ichiro's Malt Chichibu The Peated 2015 Cask Strength

Distilled: 2011 - Bottled: 2015 - Outturn: 5980 bottles - ABV: 62.5%

Nose: Past the obvious attributes of earthy elements and sweet peat a mixture of sweet and savoury layers emerge. In no particular order a lovely layer of banana fritters caress your nose – quite prolonged really. Between bursts of cold charcoal ash there’s a sweet fragrance of dried sweetgrass, barbecue savoury crackers, and a few assorted dried meats (semi-smoked pork) - actually Jamaican Jerk chicken? Thai basil. Quite chameleon in character with the introduction of water, and all for the better in my opinion. H20 draws out what I associate to be lemon Strepsils. Time and H20 revealed what I associate to be a subtle likeness of Yuzukosho. Engine oil. Then, what I can only describe as a Tiger lily that has been squirted with tar spray…

Taste: Naturally the earthy peat and charcoal ash is relatively dominant. But there is more to it. Smouldering cigar leaf, PVC toys, spicy citrus BBQ sauce, and the lemon Strepsils are back. Thai basil. Perhaps one of my favourite tastes on the pallet is the unmistakable mouth coating flavour of Porky Bits (pork crackling cracker snacks). With water salted pistachio and ash baked potato skins. However, a little too much water can make this go a bit dry.

Finish: Maintains a reasonable ride with Thai basil, pork crackling snacks, and ash dust from baked potato skins. With water, again, salted pistachios. 

Comment: The 2015 edition is the 3rd release of Chichibu’s ‘peated expressions’. All 3 limited releases maintain their own uniqueness and subtle characteristics that I liked so I’d be hard pressed to nominate a favourite. If pressed I’d most likely reveal however which one I’d lean to the most.

Ichiro's Malt Chichibu Single Cask PX for Modern Malt Whisky Market 2014 Tokyo

Cask type: Pedro Ximenez Sherry - Spanish Oak: Hogshead - Cask# 2640 : - Distilled: December 2010 - Bottled: - September 2014 - ABV: - 59.7%

Nose: Strawberries and cream soft chewy lollies. Earl grey tea fruit cake, lemon and honey tea, maraschino cherry and/or black forest cherry sauce. Soft tonnes of fresh licorice sticks. Late arrival on sourness. With water golden brown toasted raisin bread with a smear of butter, strawberry wafer biscuits, and Umeshu. Sweet and sour sauce. Hints of vermouth at times with fragrant orange.

Taste: To begin with it is hot. Then it moves expressively to spicy grilled figs, pink pepper corns, dry sherry - more so than PX, and Rocky road. Time in the glass works well with this Chichibu, which allows further development of menthol, earl grey tea, and spicy lemon peel. With water this malt has a lot more riding - berry marmalade, a touch of star anise, and mint leaves lollies. If you can be extra patient and let it sit after dilution you get a lovely liquid herb combo (again Vermouth?) and a hint of eucalyptus honey.

Finish: Moderate to long. Menthol spices, a touch of licorice, raspberry spicy sauce, dry sherry, dried orange peel, and marmalade. Dry. Water loosens up the dryness and takes a notch of the spicyness.

Comment: To date with what I own and have opened this is one of my favourite single casks from a handful of Chichibu's. Have yet to open the Oloroso.

Akkeshi Distillery Launches Facebook Page

Kenten Co. Ltd, the owners of the upcoming Akkeshi Distillery in Hokkaido, has created an official Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/akkeshi.distillery, as a platform to communicate with potential fans, and to provide an additional scope into the birth of their distillery-in-progress.

From today onward (September 1, 2015 – 12:00pm JST), Japanese whisky enthusiasts will be able to follow the fruitful efforts of the people responsible for one of Japan’s newest proposed distilleries, and find out about the latest developments of the distillery as they happen.

Take a look at the Akkeshi Distillery’s recently developed website, and keep an eye on their Facebook page for highlights. 

East Meets West - Bowmore Mizunara Cask Finish

'Whisky for Everyone' has recently tweeted from the live launch of Bowmore's Mizunara Cask Finish. According to their tweet the limited edition Bowmore has an outturn of 2000 bottles and will retail at 750 pounds per bottle. In addition The Spirits Business have informed their followers with a tweet that the make up of this good looking package is from bourbon and sherry cask parcels respectively, and with a 3 year finish in Japanese Oak. The abv of this whisky, which I presume will be highly sought after, regardless of the hefty price tag, comes in at 53.9%. At this stage there are mixed answers given as to whether this release will be available in Japan, regardless of ownership. This would be unfortunate for local whisky enthusiasts if it didn't make it ashore however, fortunate for others as it would mean a greater opportunity for availability.

Image kindly borrowed from Whisky for Everyone

Title credit given to EastMeetsWest

UPDATE August 20th, 2015: The Spirits Business last night revealed that in fact Japan will receive an allotment. For additional information regarding this release check out their full article (here).

The Birth of a Dream - Akkeshi Distillery - A New Japanese Craft Distillery in the Making

Japan, August 10, 2015. Kenten.Co Ltd, the founding company and owner of one of the nation’s newest and upcoming distilleries, launched an inaugural distillery website. The new site that went live this afternoon gives an invaluable insight into the preestablishment of the Akkeshi Distillery that is a work-in-progress. 

The informative homepage, which is fortunately accessible both in Japanese and English, documents the birth of a ‘new era’ Japanese whisky distillery. The distillery, which was born out of one man’s dream, is significantly situated in Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s islands and is located in the town of Akkeshi, a sub-prefecture of Kushiro. 

The new Internet site is divided into sections: who they are and what they are aiming to do, their vision, the region, and the distillery’s character. As with the progression of the distillery Japanese whisky enthusiasts can expect to see the continuing development of the Akkeshi Distillery web portal to flourish.

Without spoiling the experience – take a look for yourselves - visit the Akkeshi Distillery homepage and join in on the new epoch of Japanese whisky:

English version click (here)

Japanese version click (here)

Keep your eyes out for the announcement of the Akkeshi Distillery Facebook page that will follow in due time. Be sure to like the page and invite your friends.

'The Chita' Release

The Suntory Spirits Company is set to release ‘The Chita’ nationwide from September 1, 2015. The forthcoming addition to Suntory’s portfolio is made by blending various aged grain whiskies that have been maturing at various length at their Chita grain distillery in Aichi prefecture. The vatting of 'The Chita' consists of at least 10 component grain whiskies that have been matured in a variety of cask types including American white oak (the bulk of the vatting), Spanish oak, and wine casks. According to the press release the 700ml bottling will retail at 3,800 yen (excluding tax – and depending on the retailer) and is bottled at 43%. 

The good news for fans of Japanese grain whisky alike is ‘The Chita’ is not a limited edition, there will be plenty of it available therefore, it is likely a standard and long running line-up of Suntory’s stable. The spirits giant appears to be marketing this product as another refreshing alternative for use in highballs and another perfect accompaniment to food, however, by the sounds of their in-house tasting notes that includes subtle flavours and delicate sweetness it sounds like a shame to mix it. Perhaps in coming time we can possibly expect to see another grain bottling released by Hakushu?

Check out Suntory's elaborate homepage of their new brand here. 

Image kindly taken from the official press release (in Japanese).

Super Nikka Genshu Pure Malt 55.5% Abv

The Super Nikka Genshu was released on the domestic market in 1995. In 2009, 14 years later, Nikka decided to take the product off the market. The first initial debuting bottle (round type) was released with a cork but apparently due to the stopper being insufficient it was replaced the following year with a plastic screw cap. This is a blended malt (vatted malt). The word: 'Genshu' can be roughly translated as 'straight from the cask' or 'non-diluted'. Another simple interpretation is natural cask strength. Two types of bottle designs were used for this expression, one being the square type that is used for Nikka from the barrel, the following bottle type is pictured above.

Nose: Another cask strength whisky with extreme subtleness – no roughness present here. Lovely creaminess in the form of mild cream Sherry and cheesecake. Oak. Retains that welcoming trademark bubble gum aroma followed by orange and mango fruit juice. Then interestingly Earl grey and hints of fennel tea. Maltesers confectionery (malt honeycomb centre, surrounded by milk chocolate) and whispers of subtle peat. Sugar coated nuts. With a little time in the glass lovely lemon basil emerges - too much time can lead to what resembles Imo (sweet potato) Sochu. Floral and candy lemon aromas develop with water along with sweet peat. 

Taste: More heat here. Chewy. Spicy marmalade, cinnamon gum, bitter red stone fruits. Subtle sherry influence. Maltesers. That tasty lemon basil is equally present on the palate with orange and grapefruit peel. Oak. Water changes path leading to sweet-bitterness - yellow/red capsicums. Peat more influential here than the nose but it is still mild.

Finish: Long with a prickly mouth feel. Some mild bitterness as with the taste, again, walnuts and beer nut skins, marmalade and grapefruit peel.Lemon basil and gum.

Comment: Great whisky with a surprisingly adequate nose. The nose can be busy and complex at certain times. Other times standard. Recommended to any die-hard Nikka fan who has yet to try it. Perhaps a little hard to find but not impossible.