List of products by brand Ichiro's Malt Chichibu
Ichiro's Malt is an independent Japanese whiskey bottling company. It was created by Ichiro Akuto, in an exceptionally modest venue in Chichibu, a city 100 km northwest of Tokyo,
Today, Ichiro Akuto continues to implement the techniques learned over many years at the Hanyu distillery and is one of Japan's most ambitious distillers in the world of single malt whiskeys.
The Chichibu distillery is located near the Japanese town of the same name, about one hundred kilometers west of Tokyo.
The distillery was founded in 2004 by Ichiro Akuto, nephew of the well-known founder of Hanyu, now closed. It is a small distillery and although it produces small quantities of whisky, it has earned, in recent years, the respect and admiration of the public thanks to the undisputed skills of Ichiro Akuto.
Akuto's education in whiskey distilling came from the family business. His grandfather was originally a sake brewer and manager, Hanyu Distillery, founded in 1625, before obtaining his distiller's license to produce whiskey in 1941.
Akuto continued the work his grandfather had started and his passion for whiskey led him to purchase two stills from Scotland that could produce around 400 barrels.
In 2000, economic decline in Japan and reduced sake consumption forced the family to sell their business.
However, Ichiro Akuto turned this potential crisis into an opportunity and reclaimed the stills and maturing whiskey barrels from the brewery's new owners.
Located in a mountainous area full of woods, with very variable temperatures - in winter they often drop below zero while in summer they easily exceed thirty degrees - the distillery has always made the climate a strong point: these types of conditions climatic conditions, in fact, guarantee greater expansion/contraction of the wood and ensure an angels' share of 3/4% (almost double that of Scotland), thus making maturation faster.
The latter releases, under the Ichiro's Malt brand, different types of whisky: the first was created from the products of the now decommissioned Hanyu, with around a hundred surviving barrels, the oldest around thirty years old; the second includes blended, also made thanks to a stock of Kawasaki grain whiskey barrels (closed distillery) taken over by Ichiro Akuto and pure malt.
Ichiro's single malt immediately won over Japanese whiskey enthusiasts and collectors. Single malt Whiskey Chichibu are limited edition.
Chichibu receives, more and more often, enthusiastic reviews from trade magazines and now many are willing to pay hundreds of dollars, if not more, for one of its single malts, capable of keeping up with those of the distilleries larger and more established Japanese companies such as Suntory and Nikka.
In 2016 Ichiro Akuto also won first prize at the World Whiskeys Awards in the "Japanese Single Malt" category. A success that is certainly destined to grow: on the other hand, the quality of Chichibu's products is now recognized and Ichiro Akuto just has to work to ensure that the latter quickly achieve all the fame they deserve.
The few bottles produced and the great demand make it a safe economic investment.
Today it is one of the most sought after collectible whiskeys and its value grows every year at auctions.
