2021 Ichiro's Malt Chichibu The US Edition Single Malt Whisky 750ml

2021 Ichiro's Malt Chichibu The US Edition is the fourth annual release in the Chichibu Distillery's US-exclusive series — a cask-strength single malt vatted by founder Ichiro Akuto specifically for the American market, a tradition that began in 2018. Where the 2020 edition was built on heavily peated spirit, the 2021 vatting leans firmly toward fruit, showcasing the orchard-and-stone-fruit elegance that made the tiny Saitama distillery the cult name in Japanese whisky.

The vatting was drawn from a selection of casks in Chichibu's warehouses and bottled at 53.5% ABV (107 proof) without chill filtration or coloring, in a run of 2,160 bottles. Fermented in mizunara washbacks, distilled on two small Forsyth pot stills, and matured through Chichibu's extreme continental seasons, it carries the concentration of an uncut bottling with the refinement of the distillery's maturing stock. Whisky Advocate scored it 92 points.

The nose is abundant and generous — peach, dried apricot, baked orange, and polished wood with a hint of vanilla and a rose-scented Turkish-delight note. The palate delivers rich baked fruit: apple, peach, and orange over barley sugar and sweet vanilla, with pepper and clove building before citrus sweetens the finish into something like peach cobbler.

One of the most fruit-forward editions in the series. Sip neat, with a few drops of water to open it.

• Size: 750ml
• Proof: 107 (53.5% ABV) — cask strength
• Age: No age statement
• Origin: Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, Japan
• Distillery: Chichibu Distillery (Venture Whisky)
• Style/Class: Single Malt Japanese Whisky, non-chill-filtered, natural color
• Release: 2021 US Edition — fourth in the series; 2,160 bottles
• Tasting Notes: Peach, dried apricot, baked orange, polished wood, vanilla, barley sugar, pepper, clove