Chichibu
A craft distillery founded by the grandson of shuttered Hanyu. The cult of Japanese whisky, whose Card Series set sold for over a million dollars.
To understand Chichibu you first have to know the name Hanyu. Founder Ichiro Akuto's family ran the Hanyu distillery in Saitama, and when it closed the remaining stock was at risk of being thrown away. Ichiro saved those casks and released them as a limited series under playing-card labels, and this Card Series became a legend at auction. Chichibu's fame begins with that story.
The distillery itself was built on that money and name, opening in his home town in 2008. Unlike big-capital Japanese whisky, Chichibu distills small volumes on small stills, does some of the floor malting big distilleries have abandoned, and uses Japanese mizunara oak heavily for washbacks and casks. Behind a newcomer becoming a collectors' cult lie exactly this labour-intensive method and tiny output.
But the Chichibu most people actually meet is not the single malt. That goes by allocation and ballot only, with steep secondary premiums. Ichiro's Malt & Grain, which blends spirit from around the world, serves as the relatively obtainable way in and is treated as the entry to Chichibu. It's worth knowing there's this gap between the halo of the name and the whisky you can actually drink.
If you're buying, it pays to be realistic. The Card Series and the Chichibu single malts are auction and collector territory — chasing them to drink is heavy on both price and availability. To experience the brand as a taste, Ichiro's Malt & Grain is the sensible start. Being a name that represents high-end Japanese whisky alongside Yamazaki and Hakushu also means it's a brand worth more to know than to drink.
Chichibu's value runs on two tracks. Blends like Malt & Grain are relatively obtainable, but the Chichibu single malts are made in such tiny volumes that they go by allocation and ballot, with steep secondary premiums. The founder's inherited 54-bottle Hanyu Card Series full set sold for around US$1.5 million at Bonhams Hong Kong in 2020.
Auction — Bonhams (2020) · other prices are rough secondary estimates — not a personal tasting.
Chichibu stands at the opposite pole from Japanese whisky's big capital. It distills small volumes on small stills, does some of its own floor malting — long abandoned by large distilleries — and even uses Japanese oak (mizunara) for washbacks. It matures across a wide range of casks, mizunara among them, to layer the aroma. Output is so small that its own single malts are perpetually limited, while Ichiro's Malt & Grain, blending spirit from around the world, serves as the relatively obtainable way in.
Chichibu's roots lie in a shuttered distillery. Founder Ichiro Akuto's family ran the Hanyu distillery in Saitama, and when it closed its stock was at risk of being discarded. Ichiro saved that liquid and released it as a limited series under playing-card labels, and this Card Series became a legend at auction. On that money and fame he built his own distillery in his home town of Chichibu in 2008, later adding a second distillery to expand production.
Chichibu became a cult with its 'small but real' image at a time when Japanese whisky was selling out en masse. Its own single malts are praised for a delicate profile of honey, tropical fruit and vanilla laced with mizunara's signature aroma, but scarce volumes mean most people first meet the brand through Ichiro's Malt & Grain. In Korea too it is a name mentioned alongside Yamazaki and Hakushu whenever high-end Japanese whisky comes up, with the Card Series' auction myth burnishing the halo.
Delicate and multi-layered, so a tulip glass — a Glencairn or copita — that gathers the aroma and opens slowly suits it best. It varies by strength and expression, but generally only a little water is needed; the mizunara aroma is easy to miss if you rush, so give it time. Given the price and scarcity, savour it neat rather than closing the aroma over ice. The peated line is strong, so leave it still and lean your nose in rather than swirling.
Sources · Production & range — Venture Whisky (Chichibu Distillery) / trade sources · Auction — Bonhams (2020) · Product image — Ichiro's Malt