Single Malt Whisky, 'Ichiro's Malt, Single Cask #14162 - Snake'

• Single cask single malt Japanese whisky distilled by Chichibu Distillery in Saitama, Japan
• Cask #14162
• Distilled from 100% unpeated malted Concerto barley
• Fermented 100 hours in Mizunara oak washbacks
• Double distilled in Forsyths copper pot stills
• Aged in an ex-bourbon barrel for 4 years before being transferred to an ex-imperial stout cask to age for another 4 years
• Limited US release of only 239 bottles
• On the nose, ample vanilla wafer and baking spice aromas pleasantly reflect the cask regimen, framing a whisky that’s delightfully fruit forward. The palate offers grapefruit peel, wildflowers, green banana, and a lingering vanilla bean sweetness, leading to a balanced, satisfyingly full-bodied finish.
• Allergen advisory: May contain gluten
• Non-chill filtered; bottled at a cask strength of 63.6% ABV

 As Chichibu deepens its roster of core expressions, these single barrel annual releases offer an intriguing snapshot of the experimental energy of the distillery. Eagerly anticipated, Chichibu’s Zodiac Series ‘Year of the Snake’ (the eighth release in the series) features unpeated malt that spends half its maturation time in an ex-bourbon cask, half in an imperial stout cask. In the zodiacal calendar, the snake—depicted on the label in a woodblock print from the 1880s by the highly influential Edo Period Japanese artist Kawanabe Kyõsai—represents wisdom, but also transformation and adaptation. It’s an appropriate conceit for a creative distillery well into its second decade.