Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu The First

Ichiro comes from a long family of distillers. His grandfather acquired a license for distilling in 1946, and the family invested heavily in whisky production the 1980s at the Hanyu distillery. All good so far. But in 2000, after getting in financial difficulties in Japan’s lost decade, Ichiro’s father decided to sell up shop. That family business? Gone.

‘Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu The First’ is the first single malt to come from the distillery – now it’s 3 years old it can legitimately be called whisky. It’s matured in ex-bourbon barrels, and bottled at 61% ABV.