After recently completing a long and rewarding week working in Japan, I was ready to stay in the country just a while longer to take a quick trip. I wanted to visit some of my favorite breweries and distilleries in search of immediate academic enrichment. This could only happen, of course, with regimented breaks soaking in any of Japan’s onsens (hot springs in English) that I would be lucky enough to stumble upon!
It was my first time visiting Nikka’s Miyagikyo distillery in Miyagi and it was incredibly engaging but unfamiliar. But when the regional train I was riding pulled into Seibu-Chichibu station, I was instantly overcome by the sweet sense of nostalgia.
This was the third time I visited Mr Ichiro Akuto’s Chichibu distillery. Stepping out into Chichibu from the train is strangely reminiscent of pulling up to an alpine post in The Alps in Europe or having Canmore, Alberta of Cananda appear on the horizon after flying into the nearest airport in Calgary and driving for an hour.
The biggest difference here is that the mountains are comparatively more like hills in most parts apart from the ever prominent Mount Bukō and its limestone-worn facade. Otherwise, the sky is a shade of blue that you only get at high elevations, the sun feels drier and the air is sweet and clean.
As usual, Ichiro Akuto, the legend behind the ever famous and ever rare Card Series single cask bottlings and his own delicious drams produced at Saitama’s Chichibu distillery, was ever welcoming and humble. He had just come back from Hokkaido to purchase more Mizunara for his cooperage. Mizunara is hard to work with when making barrels because it’s grain and temperamental when aging because it is so porous. That being said, the noticeably concentrated notes of coconut and vanilla that it can impart into a whisky are unique and extremely desirable.
After another great tour of his small and wonderful distillery (always almost exactly the same, but never boring) and a short tasting, we parted ways for a few hours and caught up later in the evening at one of his favorite local joints, Bar Snob, where we talked about whisky, history and what craftsmanship means to the Japanese. When the subject of the price of his whiskies came up, Ichiro, in all of his modesty, told me that he had no idea his Black and White Joker was currently selling at the price of JPY 880,000 (about $7,300), a roughly 25-fold increase of the original release price of JPY 36,000!.
It was short but sweet as all visits with him tend to be, but I did get a chance to taste with him, which is always such a great pleasure. Below is a selection from my tastings with Ichiro.
Chichibu X Kusuda 5 Year-Old Single Cask
Country: Japan
Region: Saitama
Vintage: Distilled June 2009, Bottled January 2015
Score: 97 Points
Former lawyer Hiroyuki Kusuda has a very small winery in Martinborough, New Zealand. His wines have caught the attention of many cult Pinot fanatics – I’ve only been fortunate enough to enjoy it once. Luckily for us, he sold one of his ex-pinot noir to Mr. Akuto and he aged his whiskies for 66 Months in this cask! This whisky is dense and concentrated: notes of black truffle, muscovado and poached pear all play on the nose and break to a raisin scone, rich, creamy and integrated on the mid-palate. The finish is long with sweet spice box. Truly a pleasure to drink.
Chichibu The Peated 2015
Country: Japan
Region: Saitama
Vintage: Distilled in 2012, Bottled in 2015
Score: 95 Points
The third peated release from Ichiro shows there is great diversity to enjoy from batch to batch. Because of the sheer pungency of the peated malt, Ichiro only distills their peated malt once a year before the distillery temporarily shuts down for annual maintenance. This peated single malt is generous in its smoked grass and camp fire aromas but the notes are focused so there is a restrained feeling while tasting. There is a comparatively gentle cured meat character on the palate, indicating progression and maturity in a great whisky maker. There is umami in this whisky and a long, rewarding finish.
Ichiro’s Malt ‘Mizunara Wood Reserve’ No Age Statement Vatted Malt
Country: Japan
Region: Saitama
Vintage: No Age Statement
Score: 90 Points
With a distinctive aroma reminiscent of the incense that burns inside temples throughout Japan, Ichiro’s Malt Miznuara Wood Reserve is a definitive Japanese whisky. Another whisky of Ichiro’s ‘Leaf Series’, this bottle adorns a gold Mizunara leaf on the label. Mizunara Wood Reserve is laden with baked apples and honeycomb nuts with a certain grapefruit peel at the end of all of the warming aromas on the nose. The palate is soft with a mango yoghurt tang and more toffee. The finish sees the return of the grapefruit but this time it is a grapefruit oily bitterness that brings the whisky to a somewhat disappointingly short finish.
Ichiro’s Malt ‘Wine Wood Reserve’ No Age Statement Vatted Malt
Country: Japan
Region: Saitama
Vintage: No Age Statement
Score: 92 Points
When Ichiro makes a Wine Wood Reserve, he almost always uses Château Smith Haut Lafitte red wine casks. This has become somewhat of a trademark in what is perhaps Ichiro’s most visible brand, the Leaf Series with each bottle having a label that is the shape of a Japanese Mizunara tree leaf. This Wine Wood Reserve, the red label, has great sherried notes of caramelisation and oxidation to it. The nose shows loads of dried red fruit from cranberries to strawberries. Underneath, there is a malty and gingery note as well that plays through to chocolate covered strawberries and a pink peppercorn finish.
Chichibu ‘Chibidaru’ 4 Year-Old Single Malt
Country: Japan
Region: Saitama
Vintage: Distilled 2009, Bottled 2013
Score: 94
The Chibidaru or “short cask” is Ichrio’s own quarter cask which happened – as many great things do – by accident or at least as a reflex to a situation. The Chibidaru was created in an effort to save damaged staves. The result is greater barrel influence on a spirit in a shorter amount of time because there is more surface area contact to the spirit. This whisky features surprisingly powerful sauna wood and sweet cinnamon aromas. The texture is round and generous and the finish may be one of the only signs of the whisky’s youth as it falls just shy of being extremely long, but it is barely something to complain about.
Contributing Editor Elliot Faber is the beverage director of two cool Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong – Yardbird and Ronin – as well as Sunday’s Grocery. He is also one of the world’s experts on sake, Japanese whisky, shochu, awamori and Japanese beer.
