CHICHIBU - Red Wine Cask 2023 - 50.50%
Ichiro’s Malt is a major player in the independent bottling of premium Japanese whisky. Founded by Ichiro Akuto in a humble yet iconic workshop in Chichibu, a small town located just 100 km northwest of Tokyo, this house operates with only two artisanal stills. Akuto's expertise is rooted in a rich family tradition, whose grandfather was a master sake brewer before founding the legendary Hanyu distillery in 1625. In 1941, he obtained the license to produce Japanese whisky, thus inscribing the family in an exceptional lineage of distillers. His father continued this passion by acquiring two Scottish stills capable of producing about 400 barrels per year. However, the economic crisis of the 2000s in Japan, linked to a sharp decline in sake consumption, forced the family to sell their business. It was then that Ichiro Akuto turned this adversity into opportunity by recovering the precious stills and maturation barrels still held by the new owners.
Today, Ichiro Akuto brilliantly perpetuates the ancestral know-how passed down by the Hanyu distillery and establishes himself as one of the most innovative and daring Japanese distillers. More than 4,000 whisky barrels are currently maturing, including barrels that previously contained Sherry, wine, and Bourbon. In parallel, experiments are underway to cultivate local barley, with the ambition to create an exceptional 100% Japanese whisky, a true expression of the Japanese terroir.
This exclusive edition has been aged in barrels that previously held red wines from the best vineyards in France, the United States, New Zealand, and Japan, thus offering a unique and refined aromatic profile, at the crossroads of viticultural and distilling traditions.
