Two of the most important attributes for a great whisky blender are patience and knowledge. So it’s little surprise that Ichiro Akuto – of Hanyu and Chichibu fame – is one of the driving forces of today’s Japanese whisky renaissance.
Akuto represents the 21st generation of his family to produce alcohol. His ancestors started brewing sake around 1625, before moving into whisky production in 1946. However that thread could easily have been severed in the year 2000.
By this time, Akuto had come to assist his father in running Hanyu; but too late. The distillery shut down in 2000 and was demolished four years later. Akuto was left with 400 unwanted casks of whisky and little else.
Taking a gamble
A stroke of marketing genius transformed his fortunes. The launch of the hugely successful Playing Card series of Hanyu releases in 2005 created a franchise that was to become a darling of the auction rooms in the years that followed.
Fast forward to 2008, and Akuto opened the tiny Chichibu Distillery. Surrounded by mountains, about 80km north-west of Tokyo, it was the first new whisky distillery to open in Japan for 35 years.
The Chichibu Distillery in winter
As the demise of Hanyu indicated, Japan’s great love of whisky had dimmed from its peak in the early 1980s to a nadir around 2007. It was a brave – some would say foolish – time to start up a new distillery.
‘What Ichiro did was to visit about 2,000 whisky bars in Japan, all by himself, over a period of about two years,’ explains Yumi Yoshikawa, Chichibu global brand ambassador. ‘He found so many people enjoying whisky even then – and they were not just drinking one whisky, but comparing three or four.’
Attention to detail
That research gave Akuto the confidence that his approach was the right one. He focused on small-scale production, with attention to the finest details of raw materials, distillation and maturation.
Soon Chichibu – and the adjacent releases of Akuto’s innovative, flavour-led blends – earned a cult reputation. Many of those blends were ‘world’ whiskies combining different origins. Their cult status was only reinforced by their scarcity.
Washbacks of mizunara oak at Chichibu Distillery
A second, much larger (by Chichibu standards) distillery opened in 2019. It was capable of producing more than four times the amount of spirit. ‘Sometimes people are worried when they hear we have opened a second distillery,’ says Yoshikawa. ‘“Oh, you are making more volume, but less quality.” But we needed more characters in the warehouse.’
A highly promising cask sample from the second distillery – nothing has yet been commercially released – suggests that it will take the original Chichibu’s scented, fruit-forward distillate and add some structure and heft from the use of direct fire to heat the stills.
Innovation and creativity
The trademark Akuto approach to whisky-making combines a no-fear exploration of new ideas and techniques – think world blends and a wide array of cask types – with a truly artisanal style. That style encompasses local barley and floor malting.
Ichiro – he has something new in his head every year,’ says Yoshikawa. ‘Every whisky has different flavours, but we always want to show the character of the distillate.’
A ‘wide array of cask types’ is used at Chichibu
That ‘something new’ in Akuto’s head currently is a third distillery. The new grain distillery, called Tomakomai, is scheduled to open in Hokkaido in 2025. There’s already talk of a Coffey still, the use of locally grown maize and a production level that will dwarf the Chichibus.
It’s now been two decades since Hanyu was demolished. In that time Japanese whisky has gone from an ailing industry, just beginning to make its mark on the international awards scene, to one of the most sought-after whisky origins on the planet.
Yoshikawa recalls: ‘When Ichiro started, people said: “Not many people are enjoying whisky now. Why don’t you make wine or shochu?” But he kept going, and kept telling his story in Japan and around the world – and he opened up the new era of Japanese whisky. If Ichiro didn’t try, maybe things would be different.’
Top Chichibu whiskies to try
Chichibu Red Wine Cask 2023
A marriage of 36 casks, mostly ex-bourbon, finished in an eclectic mix of wine barrels. There’s Pinot Noir from Burgundy and New Zealand, Napa Cabernet and red wine/Muscat from Japan. Remarkably delicate and fragrant, floral at first, but soon notably fruit-forward, with redcurrant and wild strawberry to the fore. Excellent mouthfeel and grip, with a touch of yellow fruit from the spirit and a lifting prickle of menthol. An opulent whisky. Alcohol 50.5%
Chichibu The London Edition 2024
The seventh in a series of annual releases, with the accent on maturation in former bourbon barrels, plus a little red wine cask too. The distillate is on show, with flavours of peach and nectarine, undercut by sandalwood and a whisper of smoke. A rounded mid-palate is full of pâtisserie notes of rich cream and brioche, with a little light spice. Full of youthful appeal. Alc 50.5%
Ichiro’s Malt & Grain World Blended Whisky
A masterclass of the blender’s art, this globetrotter combines malt and grain whiskies from Japan, Scotland, Ireland, Canada and the US. Delicate notes of honeysuckle, creamy citrus and cereal on the nose, malted milk on the fruit-forward palate – apple, pear – then butterscotch from the grain and light brown sugar. Sweet, but never cloying. Alc 46.5%
Ichiro’s Malt Double Distilleries
Past meets present in this crowd-pleasing blend of spirits from Hanyu and Chichibu. A thread of scented fruit plays against perfumed aromas of pot-pourri and face powder, with smoke lurking at the back. As the power builds on the palate, the smoke asserts itself with great intensity, accompanied by green apple. Robust but balanced. Alc 46.5%
Ichiro’s Malt MWR Mizunara Wood Reserve
Another world whisky, this blended malt was finished in virgin Japanese mizunara oak for a year. Cream-accented apple and pear fruit leads into notes of baking spices and perfumed sandalwood. Punchy on the palate, with a hint of smoke in the background, this is a more linear whisky, given a firm, but never austere, structure by the mizunara. Alc 46.5%
Ichiro’s Malt Wine Wood Reserve
A blended ‘world whisky’ that combines Scottish spirit with Chichibu, finished in Bordeaux red wine casks. The vinous character is front-and-centre here, with spicy plum and black cherry fruit. The wood gives the palate great structure and not a little power. There’s a touch of woodsmoke, but the overall effect is sweetly appealing – and just a little jammy. Alc 46.5%