You’ve heard about Ichiro Akuto, right? If you haven’t, it’s about time you did! He is a rock star of the Japanese whisky world, and his family have been in the alcoholic brewage making industry since the 1600s. Ichiro’s father ran the Hanyu distillery and began experimenting with whisky making, until his unfortunate bankruptcy.

Ichiro founded his own distillery, named Chichibu, located in Saitama, just outside of Tokyo. He bought the stock from the Hanyu distillery and marketed it under the name of The Hanyu Card Series – a series of 54 bottles now selling for over 100.000 USD at auctions.

He is also a dedicated man; travelling widely inside and outside of Japan, with the goal of finding the perfect formula for his whiskies. It goes without saying that as the Chichibu distillery is young, so are its whiskies. However, they improve greatly as each year passes. Our bartender at dekantā informs us that, although Ichiro makes progress each year, he has not yet reached his goal of perfection.

This, however, does not deter from the fact that Ichiro‘s whiskies are indeed exquisite, and best enjoyed straight or on the rocks. They enjoy a certain cult following, have an interesting story behind them, and are a must try for any whisky fans. We are constantly stocking up on new bottles from Ichiro, and last week we got a new delivery, take a look below:

Ichiro’s Malt Mizunara Heads
One word describes this bottle: awesome! Aged in Japanese Mizunara casks, bottled in 2011 from cask #1429, it is, in one word, amazing! We are so excited to be able to offer it. Give it a try; you will not regret it!

The Ichiro’s Malt American White Oak

This beautiful bottle is something every fan of Ichiro should take note of. The Ichiro’s Malt American White Oak was distilled in 2013 and matured in a single American White Oak cask #2688. Coming with a beautiful wooden-looking label, it is not only excellent to drink, but you can also keep it on the shelf to impress your friends!

Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu Single Malt 2015
Yet another beautiful and tasty offering from Ichiro. Like so many bottles coming from his distillery, this looks quite special. This particular bottle was released last 2015, with only 400 bottles ever made. Although we have not dared try it, from what we hear, it is superb!

Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu Tokyo Barshow 2016
This Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu Tokyo Barshow 2016 was made to commemorate the 2016 Tokyo Barshow. It was aged in a Bourbon barrel, distilled in 2011, and bottled in 2016. If you’d like to impress your friends, then having a bottle of Ichiro’s Malt in your collection is the best way to do it!

Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu Tokyo Barshow 2015
Yet another masterpiece from Ichiro is the Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu Tokyo Bar Show 2015, which was made to commemorate the Tokyo Bar Show of 2015. Matured in an oak cask, distilled in 2009, and bottled in 2015, only 299 bottles were ever released, making it an excellent collector’s item!

And that’s not all: we have countless bottles from Ichiro’s, take a look at our selection here!