Chichibu
The small Chichibu distillery, surmounted by its "Scottish-style" pagoda, is located about 100km west of Tokyo, in the mountains, in the province of Saitama. The distillery was founded in 2004 by Ichiro Akuto, grandson of the well-known founder of the now closed Hanyu. Ichiro Akuto's has now become one of the most famous names in the world of whiskey of the new millennium, it has in fact made itself popular not only in Japan but also abroad, and was awarded as the best "single cask in the world" in 2017 by the World Whiskey Awards.Malted barley is purchased in Europe, both standard and peated. The must, produced with the three "English" steps, prepares the ground for a very long fermentation, often exceeding three days. This allows for complete extraction of the sugars and an extremely fruity profile. The fermentation vats are in Mizunara wood, aromatic and very characteristic. There are two copper stills, imported from Scotland and produced by Forsyth's. The distillery mainly uses 200 liter bourbon barrels and 130 liter Quarter Casks. Evaporation from the barrels, in a climate with such a strong temperature range, is important but this helps to give the whiskey aroma and body in a shorter time.