Chichibu The Peated 2015 Ichiro's Malt 62.5% 2011

Professional reviews

Serge Valentin (86)

Vorsicht! Caution! Atención! Colour: gold. Nose: some kind of rounded peatiness, perhaps. Maybe a little silverware polish? Antiseptic? Well, it IS antiseptic for sure. Nah, it burns a bit. So, with water: it’s quite hard to tame, finding the right amount of water is difficult. I find a grassy peat, some wormwood, some seaweed for sure, touches of camphor… Sometimes it’s young Laphroaig distilled a long time ago, and sometimes it’s rather young Ardbeg distilled a long time ago. Hints of gherkin brine, green grapefruits... It’s not to be rushed, this baby needs your care and your attention. Like all babies, I suppose… Mouth (neat): it seems that someone smoked marshmallows. Or sno balls. Not a bad idea, that, but this drop is really too strong when undiluted. With water: almost gone the sno balls, and gone the marshmallows. This is young grassy and fattish peat, with a little salt, and, there, a little sake. The mind is weak, isn’t it. Finish: very long, salty, briny, and green. Green tea (my brain says macha), and grapefruits. The aftertaste is rather superbly zesty, but there’s a little gritty pepper from the oak. Comments: not an easy beast. There is some complexity, but every time you find some subtle notes, a wave of young peat just crushes them, which can get a little tiring. But yeah, it’s great, great whisky.

BOW (90)

Young and small, Chichibu distillery produces mature whiskies despite of their young age. The Peatted is no exception to the rule,

Ichiro Akuto, grand-son of the Hanyu distillery founder (closed in 2000), decided in 2007 to build a new whisky distillery in Chichibu city, 100 kilometers northwest of Tokyo. The accumulated over time expertise transmitted by his grandfather, allows him to produce surprisingly complex whiskies despite their lack of maturity.