Chichibu Ichiro S Malt Wine Wood Reserve

Tasting note by the chaps at master of malt.

Chichibu ichiro s malt wine wood reserve.

Ichiro s malt wine wood reserve. Ichiro s malt grain limited edition world blended whisky. Ichiro s malt wine wood reserve wine wood reserve produced by blending various unblended malt whiskys mainly produced in the chichibu distillery and finished off in barrel used for ageing red wine. Ichiro s malt winewood reserve is a blend of malt whisky from chichibu and the closed hanyu distillery in decreasing amounts over the years but also scotch whisky.

His wine wood reserve is a blended malt containing japanese whiskies from chichibu that have been finished in red wine casks and scottish whisky. Ichiro s malt wine wood reserve includes malt distilled at the now closed hanyu distillery. This edition was given a finishing period in french wine casks.

Awarded best japanese blended malt at the world whisky awards in 2011. The result is a rich and jammy dram with lots of complexity. Japanese whisky sales were at their lowest level in decades causing distillers such as nikka and suntory to cut production massively. Ichiro s malt wine wood bottling note a pure malt as the label says whisky from the ichiro s malt series containing whisky from the closed hanyu distillery and matured vatted and bottled at the chichibu distillery.

Ichiro akuto founder of japan s chichibu distillery is not only one of the most respected distillers in the country but he s also a master whisky blender. The distillery started its operations in 2008 and has been making single malt whisky influenced by the local climate. Like the other leaf series bottlings ichiro s malt wine wood reserve is a blend of pure malts a term commonly used in japan but rather disliked by the swa in scotland from both hanyu and chichibu. This is finished in a wine casks the rather unique ovum casks which are 20 hl egg shaped barrels made from french oak shaped in the charentes region by the taransaud company.

This was matured including a finishing period in french oak ex wine casks vatted and bottled at chichibu. When akuto ichiro set up chichibu distillery in 2008 most people thought he was crazy. Chichibu ichiro s malt japanese single malt whisky wine wood reserve 700ml.