Salud Spirits has been on a roll the past couple of years producing some incredibly collectible Chichibu single casks, with the most recent series being the 7EVEN Gods of Fortune that takes after Japan's lore of its legendary Gods of Fortune.

Now into the 5th release, Salud Spirits have announced the launch of the Chichibu "Fukurokuju" Single Cask from the 7EVEN Gods of Fortune series, an 8 Year Old Japanese Single Malt expression, made with Odyssey barley, that has been aged in a 1st Fill Bourbon Barrel and bottled at 61% ABV. The single cask was selected by Salud's tasting panel Noortie Baselmans, Herbert Roenhoerst, Ronald Zwartepoorte, Jan Smits and Martin van Opstal. A total outturn of 188 bottles will be released of this edition.

Fukurokuju, "Fuku" representing "Happiness", is usually portrayed as bald with long whiskers and an elongated forehead. He is said to be an incarnation of the "Southern Polestar" also known as the star Canopus outside of Asia. The sacred book tied to his staff either contains the lifespan of every person on earth or a magical scripture. He is accompanied by a crane and a turtle, which are considered to be symbols of longevity. He is also sometimes accompanied by a black deer, with ancient legends saying that a deer turns black if it is over 2000 years old. 

In true Salud Spirits style, the 7EVEN Gods of Fortune each comes with a hyper realistic dreamy digital art that is applied on the label and the packaging, which comes as a result of the distributor's collaboration with digital artist Robbin Sniders, the designer behind WARBB. The series was first launched in 2022 to great excitement and will continue to run into 2025 when all 7 single cask bottlings would have been released. 

"When I was approached by this wonderful whisky brand, I was immediately enthusiastic. It's an honor to contribute to the total customer experience and for me, it's the ultimate way to bring my art alive. I want to immerse the proud owner of this rare Chichibu bottle in a world I created: the world of WARBB" said Robbin Sniders.

Official Tasting Notes

Nose: Floral and fruit notes alternate with notes of green apple and roses. These notes are beautifully paired with full-sweet notes of icing sugar, the Dutch deep fried treat called "oliebollen" and tumtums.

Taste: Where the nose still came in as lightly fruity, the palette is an explosion of tropical fruit. With notes of pineapple, papaya and guava. A nice spicy peppery note rounds it all off.

Finish: The finish is medium-length and leaves you delightfully revelling in the sultry summer fruit of both nose and palette. Powerful, but at the same time beautifully balanced.

Those interested can head over to Salud Spirits' website here. 

Additionally will be hosting a benefit in conjunction with the Japanese Consulate, where a second bottle of the Fukurokuju expression will be up for auction to support Second Harvest Japan, which aims to provide a safety net to the less fortunate in Japan by providing access to food. The event will be announced at a later date, and will take place in The Hague, Netherlands, where Chichibu Distillery's Founder Ichiro Akuto has been invited to attend and sign bottles won at the auction. Amongst which other Chichibu expressions will be up for auction, including past Spirits of Salud releases and the Chichibu Red Wine Cask 2023.

Kanpai!

88 Bamboo Editorial Team